The Slayer's Super Cousin
by DaBillmann
Summary: With her parents divorce, and the death of her uncle, Buffy Summers and her mother Joyce move to Sunnydale California to live with Joyce's sister, Eliza Danvers, her daughter Alex and adopted daughter Kara. Buffy is the Slayer, Kara is an alien, Sunnydale is situated over a Hellmouth, and nobody seems to know how Uncle Jeremiah died. Looks like everybody has their secrets.
1. Prologue

A/N: This is a crossover between Buffy The Vampire Slayer and the Supergirl tv show. I'l lbe using the character of Kara Zor-El but she won't put on a costume and go by the name Supergirl. Her powers wil lbe more on par with Buffy's, and she and Buffy will wind up working together against the vampires, the demons...you know the rest. I'll be using Kara's foster parents and sister Alex. I'm not planning to use the Kryptonian villains, but, you never know. Rated M to be safe. Definite language and violence. Possible sexual situations. Not sure at this time if there wil lbe femslash or spanking references I'd rather rate it M now and not need to than to have the admins get after me for rating it T when it needs an M rating later.

Disclaimer:I don't own Buffy or Supergirl. If I did, I would be doing this professionally. LOL. I make no money off of this. The only thigns i won are any original characters.

 **The Slayers Super Cousin**

 **By Dabillmann**

 **Prologue: The planet Krypton.**

Krypton was dying.

Allura Zor-El watched sadly as her husband put the finishing touches on the small craft he'd been working on. Zor had been so sure the council could not ignore his evidence, that he hadn;t started his plan B until it was too late to build a craft large enough for all three of them, Zor, Allura herself, and their daughter, Kara. As it was, they were cutting it close to even build a craft large enough for their 10 year old daughter. The ground shook violently as another quake hit. Despite their home being reinforced, debris fell from the ceiling of Zor's basment lab.

"It's getting worse,"said Zor, workign feverishly. He hadn't slept or bathed for days, in truth, he'd only eaten to stop himself from collapsing. "We'llbe lucky if we have hours." He finished an adjustment and steped back. "Get Kara," he said. "it's time."

Allura nodded and left the lab, going upstairs to Kara's room. She foudn Kara huddled on her bed, looking scared. She smile sadly. These woudl be her last moment with her precious girl.

"Mother!" said Kara as Allura walekd in.

Allura sat on the bed with her. "My Sweet One," she said. "I need you to come with me." She reached otu and took Kara's hand. The little girl took it and stood with her mother.

"I heard yo uand Father talking one night," said Kara. "Krypton is dying, isn't it?'

Allura fought tears. "Yes, my Darling," she told her. "It is. But your father has a plan." She squeezed the frightened girls hand, then kept them both steady as another quake hit. This one smaller but...

It didn't stop.

The two stumbled and made their way into Zor's labe. Kara released her mother's hand and ran to her father, who took her in his arms. "Father!" she cried. "Mother says you have a plan to save us."

Zor looked down at his daughter. Kara was beautiful, tall for her age, with long dark blonde hair, She really WAS the image of her mother.

"I do,Little One," said Zor, kissing her on top of her head. He indicated the ship. "The council wouldn't listen to me. Krypton is doomed. But, this ship will make sure the house of El lives on.

Kara looked, and cocked her head to the side, always a clue that she was processing something. "But," she said. "That ship is too small for all three of us!" Zor and Allura exchanged a grim smile. The child always had been too bright for their own good.

"It IS Little One," he said, grabbing a table to keep his balance as the groudn shook more violently. "I'm afraid I barely had time to build one with room for you."

Kara caught his meaning immediately "NO!" she exclaimed. "I won't go without you!"

"Kara, you MUST,' said Zor. "I can't bear the thought of you dying with this planet. And you have a duty to The House Of El. The house of El must live on. Krypton MUST live on. Through YOU Kara."

"But...what will I do?" asked Kara, crying.

"You will be strong, my darling daughter," said Allura, pulling her into a hug. "Be strong for us."

The quake grew stronger, causing it to become difficult for all three of them to remain on their feet. A large piece of the ceiling hit the floor, barely missing Zor. He bent over and picked Kara up. "There's no more time!" he exclaimed, carrying her towards the ship. He opened the small cockpit and placed Kara inside. Allura came up on the other side and belted Kara in. Zor pointed at a button. "Press this button when you are clear," he said, pointing to a green button. "I left you instructions." He smoothed her hair. "I'm sorry we can't go with you, my precious precious girl." He kissed her on her forehead. "Be strong Kara. I love you."

"We'll always be with you, my sweet girl," said Allura, crying as she also kissed her on her forehead. "I love you."

"Mother, Father," said Kara, crying. She wrapped an arm aroudn each of their necks, hugging them as best she could from this awkward position. "I love you! I love you both. I love you" She was still saying "I love you" as they pulled away and Zor closed and sealed the cockpit. They waved, and went into a small sealed room. Zor flipped some switches and the ship commenced it's take off.

Allura put her arms around Zor as the ship took off. She cried on her husbands shoulder.

Zor took her in his arms. She'll be fine," he said. "I'm sending her to the planet I was stranded on for a time five years ago."

"Earth?" questioned Allura. Zor nodded. The quakes grew worse, kno9ckign them both to the ground. But they never lost their grips on each other. They looekd each other in the eyes, needing no words. They leaned in, and their lips met

And then, Krypton exploded.

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Kara screamed as her small ship was buffeted by the shock waves or Kryptons destruction. The ships stabilizers took hold, and the ship accelerated, and soon, she was out of the wave. She sat there and cried as chunks of her late planet sped by her ship.

Eventually, Kara pulled herself together enough to remember her fathers final command. She dried her eyes and pushed the green button. A hologram of her fathers head appeared in front of her and spoke to her. He looked sad.

 _My beloved Kara. Your mother and I are so sorry we can't be with you. We know you will be strong, and make us proud._

 _I am sending you to a planet I was briefly stranded on five years ago. You probably barely remember me being planet is caleld Earth. While I was there, I met a man who helped me hide and repair my ship. When you near the Earth, a signal wil lbe sent to him, asking him to meet you at the spot I have programmed for you to land. Tell him who you are. I am sure he will help you. His name is Jeremiah Danvers._

 _Your ship is made of special materials that will dissolve once your engines shut way there will be no evidence of your origins. The people of Earth are good people, but, they are still relatively primitive, and their leaders might do terrible things to an alien amongst them if you were to be found out. I know I'm scaring you my Darling, and I don't MEAN to, but I want yo uto understand how important it is that you blend in and live as one of them._

 _The Earth has a yellow sun. You will find your body energized by this sun. You will become stronger and faster than humans. You will also heal rapidly and be able to fly. This is what happened to me while I was there. You're a good girl Kara, and I know I can trust you not to abuse these abilities._

 _When this recording ends, you will enter faster than light travel. You shouldbe on Earth in a matter of hours, a day at the most._

 _Please, Kara. In all your life, remember one thing:_

 _We love you._

Kara started crying again as the recording ended and lights aroudn ehr smalll ship started to swirl.

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Eliza Danvers looked again at her husband, Jeremiah. He was being all mysterious. That silly old ham radio he never used had started beeping, and after putting the headphones on, he'd insisted they leave their 11 year old daughter Alex with neighbors and drive into the desert. They'd been here two hours, and nothing.

"WHAT on Earth are we doing here?" Eliza and Jeremiah were an attractive couple both nearing forty. He was a scientist, she was a doctor.

"Remember that thing that happened five years ago that I said I couldn't talk about?" asked Jeremiah. Eliza nodded. Jeremiah went on to tell her this amazing story about an alien named Zor-El who had crashed her on Earth and how Jeremiah had helped him to return home. She was about to call shennanigans on the story when they heard a roaring sound from the sky. She looked up and saw what appeared at first to be a meteorite headed towards the Earth. As it got closer, it took form, and Eliza nearly fainted when she realized it was a ship. The ship got clsoer, slowed, and landed. The cockpit opened and a small girl who must be younger than Alex climbed out. She was wearign strange clothes, with a sort of stylized S symbol on the chest. Jeremiah walked towards the ship. Eliza had no choice but to follow.

The shipe started dissolving behind the little girl once she had stepped away from it. Soon, nothing was left of it. The girl looekd at them, a mixture of fear and grief on her face. And something else was there. A determination to be strong. The little girl satepped up to Jeremiah.

"Jeremiah Danvers?" she asked. Jeremiah nodded his head. "My name is Kara Zor-El. I believe you knew my father."

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 **Los Angeles California. Six years later.**

Buffy Summers sat on her bed sadly. Her parents divorce had just been finalized, and their house was up for sale. Her mother, Joyce, said she wanted to move from LA, and get a fresh start for her and Buffy. But, Buffy knew, no school in LA was going to accept her after the trouble at her old school, Hemry High. She'd been kicked out after burning down the school gym. That wasn't entirely ehr fault though. She'd been called as a Vampire Slayer a few months ago, and, in the pursuit of her duties, she'd started getting into trouble. Then, after getting kicked out, her parents divorced. Buffy blamed herself and this so called calling for that.

"Buffy?' came her Mom's voice. Joyce had been on the telephone, so the call msut have ended. Buffy stood and went downstairs to the living room.

Joyce was sitting on the couch, crying softly. Buffy got scared. "What's wrong, Mom?" she asked. "it's not Dad, is it?"

Joyce shook her head. "No, Sweetie," she said, motioning for Buffy to sit next to her. Buffy did. "Sweetie, that was your grandmother on the phone. Then Aunt Eliza. I'm afraid your Uncle Jeremiah has passed away."

Buffy looked shocked. Uncle Jeremiah was married to her Mom's older sister, Eliza. They had a daughter, Alex, who was a year older than Buffy, and six years ago had adopted a girl named Kara who was Buffy's age. Buffy, Joyce, andBuffy's father, Hank, had been to visit them several tiems over the years. Joyce and Eliza had always been close. "What happened?" she asked, tearing up. Joyce hugged her.

"I don't know, Sweetie,"she said. "Niether of them said. Grandma called me then I called Aunt Eliza. The funeral is this Saturday." Joyce looked Buffy in the eyes. "Sweetie, Aunt Eliza and I talked about it, and you and I will be staying after the funeral, and moving into their house with them. Since you and I were going to be moving anyway, we decided it jsut made sense for two newly single sisters to live and raise their daughters together." Buffy nodded. She still didn't want to move, but, if they had to at least they would be with family.

"Pack your bags, Sweetie," said Joyce. "We're moving to Sunnydale."

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A/N2: The title is tentative. It's honestly the best I could come up with. If anybody has a better idea, feel free to IM me. Hope you enjoy the story. Please, do read and review.

A/N3: I KNOW! Another new one. Trust me to keep working on the others, please. ^_^


	2. Chapter 1 Arrival

**To the Guest Reviewer: You pretty much read my mind. Kara is going to be stronger than Buffy and heal faster. Buffy is the better fighter. Not sure at this point which is actually faster. Glad you like the idea and hope you continue to enjoy the story.**

 **To Anna: Thank you for the review. I hope not to disapoint.**

 **Chapter One Arrival**

"Kara! Wait up!"

Kara Danvers, formerly Kara Zor-El, turned and smiled as she saw her three friends, Xander Harris, who had called out to her, Willow Rosenberg and Jesse Mcnally. They were all three good friends, and the four of them formed what Kara jokingly called "The Awkward Club." Bing from another world, and having to hide her abilities, Kara found herself a bit of an outsider, and she wasd glad she'd found these three shortly after coming to Sunnydale. She walked back to them.

Hey guys," she said, adjusting her glasses. She didn't need them, but they were part of her disguise. her foster parents had drilled into her and her foster sister Alex that Kara had to blend in.

"Hi,"said Willow. Poor, sweet, shy Willow. She really was a pretty girl, but that was hidden behind a mousy hairdo, clothes picked out by an overbearing mother who always picked stuff that looked like it belonged on a girl several years younger, and a naturally timid personality.

"Hey," said Xander. Fairly tall, with unrulyblack hair, Xander was one of those boys who was cute but didn't know how cute he was, and to the general public, it got hidden behind his own awkward personality, plus his snarky wit and self deprecating sense of humor. Xander was something of a class clown, always trying a little too hard to make people laugh. In her five years on Earth, Kara had become good at observing humans, and felt that both Xander and Willow could be a lot cooler with more self confidence.

"Hey, girl," said Jesse, trying to be cool. Kara almost laughed. She loved Jesse, she lvoed all three of them, but, Jesse was a goober and would always be a goober. The problem was, he sometiems seemed to REALLY think he was being cool or charming. He had a thing for a popular girl named Cordelia Chase, and though he kept plugging along, he kept trying, like a dog with a bone.

"So," said Xander, "We were just talking about Bronzeing it tonight. You wanna come with?"

"I can't," said Kara. "My Aunt Joyce and my cousin Buffy are arriving tonight, and Mom wants us all to have a family dinner." She got a bit sad. Her foster father, Jeremiah's, death was stll really fresh for her and she really missed hsi presence at family dinners.

"Oh, right," said Willow. "I forgot that was today. Buffy's our age isn't she?"

Kara nodded. "Yeah," she said.

"Well, spill," said Jesse. "What's she like?"

"She's...kind of a popular cheerleader type," said kara reluctantly. It was true, though she and Buffy had always gotten along. Buffy could be very sweet under her airheaded, self centered ways."

"Oh, I bet she and Alex get along GREAT," snarked Xander.

Kara chuckled. Alex and Buffy had always fought a lot. Alex had definately inherited their parents brains, and was almost as good a student as Willow. She really had no prolems with the popular kids, she had to ostrong a personality to let that happen, she jsut had issues with the shallow bubble heads and felt that that was what Buffy was. "They've...had their share of run ins."

"So, a Cordette in the making?" asked Xander.

"I'm not sure,"said Kara. "I know things got a little crazy in LA before Aunt Joyce and Uncle Hank got divorced. I'm not sure of the specifrics, but Buffy did quit cheerleading, and starting hanging out with a boy her folks didn't approve of." She shrugged. "I haven't seen her in over a year. I guess we'll have to wait and see who she starts to hang with." The others nodded.

"KARA!" came a voice fron behind them. They all turned to see Ms Grant, an english teacher and facullty advisor to the school paper coming towards them. Kara was an assistant editor for the paper.

"Yes, Ms Grant?" she asked, stepping away from her friends.

"I've been looking all over for you," said Ms Grant, a haughty, overbearing blonde who some people considered really attractive. "I need you to rewrite Billy's column before we go to press. It looks like he wrote it in his sleep."

"But, Ms Grant!" Kara protested. "We go to press at the end of the day. That's not enough time!"

"You have lunch and a free period," said Ms Grant, icily. "I can also give yo ua pass to get you out of gym. Kara," she said, alweays mispronoucning Kara's name to come out more like "Kee-ra" instead of "Kah-ra" "If yo uwant to stay an assistant editor, I want that article by press time." She spun on her heel and left.

Kara sighed. "I guess I better get busy,"she said. She turned and left her friends.

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WELCOME TO SUNNYDALE

Enjoy your stay.

Buffy looked out the window as they passed the sign. She sighed a little., still nervous about the move.

"It'll be ok, honey," said Joyce, sympathetically. "I think this is going to be a good new start for all five of us"

"I guess," said Buffy, non committally. "It's gonna be a little weird. Alex and I don't exactly get along."

"I know," said Joyce, sighing. "But you're jsut going to have to try. Alex and Kara just lost their father. You didn't lose yours, but you don't live with him anymore. Maybe you'll bond with them."

Buffy smiled. She could tell her mom was trying to be chipper, but she was nervous too. "I hope so," she said, honestly. Her mom and Aunt Eliza were really close, and she'd always been a little sad that she and Alex weren't closer.

The two drove in silence, looking for Revello drive.

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"She's a troublemaker, Mom," Alex Danvers said for the millionth time as her Mom put the finishing touched on their guest room. v"She burned down her school gym for pete sake!"

"Everybody makes mistakes, Alex," said Eliza, a bit exasperatedly. "Buffy is our family so, instead of judging her, we're going to do what we can to help her. All five of us are going through a hard tiem right now. Don't you think yo ucan be cheritable?" Alex had been trying to talk her Mom out of letting Aunt Joyce and Buffy move in since Eliza had broken the news to her and Kara.

Alex lowered her eyes. "I'm scared, Mom," she admitted.

Eliza stopped what she was doing and turned to Alex. "Of what, sweetie?" she asked.

"They don't know about Kara," said Alex. "It's easier for Kara to fool people at school, but, this is close quarters. Aren't they bound to see something is up?"

Eliza smiled softly and ran her fingers through Alex's mid length auburn hair. "Baby, it'll be ok," she said. "I know Aunt Joyce. We've always been really close. And she might be shocked to learn Kara is from another planet, but I think she'd be accepting."

"Besides, I'll be super careful," said Kara from the door. Eliza smiled. Alex had always been Kara's big sister, reassuring Kara when she was scared, but, here Kara was trying to reassure her. "Sorry I'm late. Der Fuhrer made me rewrite an article." Eliza and Alex both laughed. They both knew how dictatorial Ms Katherine Grant could be.

"I'm just glad you made it before Aunt Joyce and Buffy got here," she said. "You sure you don't mind sharing your room?"

Kara shook her head. "Buffy and I are the same age, so, it's the best solution. Plus, technically, we're sharing YOUR room." They all laughed again. The house had four bedrooms. They were putting Joyce in the guest room and Eliza was giving Kara and Buffy the master bedroom and moving into Kara's old room. It only made sense to Eliza to have two people share the biggest bedroom with it's own bathroom.

"But I STILL get to sue the big tub whenever I want to!" demanded Eliza, playfully.

Alex laughed, feeling better. "You guys are crazy," she said as Eliza drew them both into a big hug.

"God, I miss your father,"said Eliza tearfully. "I think having them move in is a good thing though. With Aunt Joyce and Uncle Hank's divorce, I thin kwe all need each other." Both girls nodded, then Kara's acute hearing picked up the sound of a car pulling up.

"They're here," she said. All three disengaged and went down to greet them.

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Buffy smiled as Aunt Eliza came out of the house to greet her and her Mom. aunt Eliza was a pretty woman, a few years older than Joyce, with light blonde hair. Both were about the same height. Buffy chuckled a little. Kara was about their height, and Alex only a couple of inches shorter. She felt like a dwarf! Eliza threw her arms around her sister and the two clung to each other.

"Hi, Lizzie," said Joyce, patting Eliza's back.

"I'm so glad you're here, Joy," said Eliza, emotionally. They hugged for another moment, then Eliza went over and hugged Buffy tightly too as Alex went up and hugged Joyce. "You too, Sweetie," Eliza said. She stepepd back and looekd into Buffy's eyes. "Are you ok, Sweetie?" she asked.

Buffy had melted into the hug and was reluctant to let go. Things were often still strained between her and Joyce since the trouble in LA and the unrestrained hug felt good. "I'm ok,"said Buffy. "Just a lot going on." She looked sadly at her aunt. "We haven't talked since Mom decided to move here. I'm so sorry about Uncle Jeremiah. He was always really sweet to me."

"Thank you Sweetie,' said Eliza with a sad smile. "He was always really fond of you."

Alex and Kara had both greeted Joyce and walked over to Buffy. Kara came right over and gave Buffy a quick hug, but Alex hung back a little.

"I'm glad you're here," Kara told Buffy. "I'm looking forward to showing you around school Monday and introducing you to my friends."

"That'll be fun,"said Buffy, then she looked at Alex. She'd been nervous about this. She and Alex had never been close, and she was afraid Alex would throw the trouble in La into her face. But, as their eyes met, they found some common ground. Alex loved Buffy's father and was sad about the divorce. Buffy had loved Alex's father, and was greiving him too. Both girls burst into tears and threw themselves into each others arms, holding each other and crying.

Kara was the first to put her arms around them both. then Eliza and Joyce came up and did the same, all five of them crying and sharing a group hug. it occured to Buffy they were probably making quite a spectacle for the neighbors, but, none of them cared.

They were together, and they were a family.

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 **That evening at Sunnydale High School.**

"A-are you sure about this, Josh?" the beautiful blond girl asked. Josh Randall looked over at her. Oh yes, she was HOT! With her blond hair, innocent expression, and the Catholic schoolgirl uniform that was hugging her petite but shapely frame. She looked a little older than most girls who went to St Christophers, a nearby Catholic private school, but Josh didn't care. She was hot ,and she definately seemed interested.

"Don't worry," said Josh, putting a hand on her shoulder reassuringly. "Nobody is ever in the school this time of night. But hey, if you're nervous, we don't HAVE to do this." Josh didn't want to scare the girl off. Not too many girls showed much of an interest in him. He was very average. Brown hair, brown eyes, thin, not terribly athletic or artistic. He got good grades but wasn't even really a brain. He'd been amazed when this beautiful girl had given him the eye. Then, when he'd finally gotten up the nerve to talk to her, she had asked if they could go somewhere private. He decided to try to impress her by breaking into Sunnydale High School, and they now stood in one of the classrooms.

"It's ok," said the girl, giving him a small smile. "I'm not scared if you're with me."Josh thought he saw something almost...predatory in her blue eyes, but figured that had to be a trick of the poor lightning. "You're sure, though, that nobody else is here?"

"I'm sure,"said Josh.

"Good," said the girl. Suddenly, her face changed. Her eyes turned yellow, her teeth grew to fangs, and her face took on a bumpy ridgey look. Josh screamed as the last thing he felt was sharp teeth sinking into his neck.

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A/N: Hope you all enjoyed the chapter. I was going to include more with the Danvers/Summers clan, but that seemed like a really good point to leave it. Please let me know what you think.


	3. Chapter 2 Welcome To The Hellmouth Pt 1

**Chapter Two: Welcome To The Hellmouth Pt 1**

She tossed and turned in her sleep, racked with nightmares. Mostly a disjointed collection of images. A homeless man wandering down an alley, then being attacked by something.

A disembodied voice saying " I'll take you... like a cancer. I'll get inside you and eat my way out."

A horrible white demonic face.

("Buffy!")

A pool of blood.

("Buffy!")

And roars coming out of the shadows.

"BUFFY!"

Buffy's eyes snapped open and she sat straight up in her bed, feeling a little disoriented as she tried to shake off the effects of the dream.

"Buffy, are you ok?" came a voice from the other side of the room. "You were thrashing around and moaning." It took her a moment to remember where she was.

Oh, yeah. Sunnydale. Kara.

"I'm ok, Kara,"she said. "Mostly. Just a bad dream." She decided not to tell her cousin, who she now shared a room with the content of her bad dream. Why open herself up to questions?

"I understand," said Kara. "I've had a few since Saturday." Saturday, they'd had the funeral for Uncle Jeremiah. Buffy suddenly felt selfish for worrying about her issues with getting kicked out of Hemry and everything. Alex had lost her father, and Kara her adoptive father for crying out loud.

Buffy looked over at Kara as she got dressed. There was something different about her adopted cousin. She seemed like a normal, if slightly quiet, teenage girl, but, sometimes, she didn't get a joke that anybody should get, or, the day of the funeral, she walked out of their room without her glasses, and seemed to do just fine without them. But, on the other hand, she was sweet, and seemed to really worry about Buffy having had to move to a new town like she did.

"Kara," said Buffy. "Things have gone so quickly since Mom got the call from Grandma, and neither Grandma or Aunt Eliza said anything then, so, this is my first chance to ask. How did Uncle Jeremiah die?"

Kara looekd troubled. "I don't know for sure," she said. "it was some sort of accident at work, but nobody will give us details. Dad worked for the government and the work he did was top secret."

"That would explain in," said Buffy, as Kara went into the bathroom A moment later, Buffy heard the shower running. She felt bad that Aunt Eliza had given up her room to Buffy and Kara, but it was NICE having their own bathroom.

She heard a knock on the door. "Hey, you two up?" came Alex's voice.

"We're up and Kara is in the shower, Alex," said Buffy, getting out of bed and walking to their walk in closet to pick out something to wear.

"Ok, Aunt Joyce just wanted me to check," called Alex. "She said to remind you you don 't want to be late your first day."

Buffy heard Alex walk off. "No," she muttered. "Definitely wouldn't want THAT."

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The five ladies had a quick breakfast of yogurt with fruit and granola before getting ready to all head out. Eliza had work and Joyce was scouting locations for the art gallery she was opening. Alex got a sad smile as she picked up her car keys. When her Dad died, she had gotten his car, as she was 17 and a senior in high school. On the one hand, it was a nice car, and she LOVED having her freedom, even if it DID mean sometimes carting Kara, and now Buffy who didn't even have her license yet, around.

But she'd rather have her Daddy back.

She cleared her throat. "C'mon you two," she called to Kara and Buffy. "The cab is leaving in a minute." Kara smiled as she and Buffy got up and the three girls exchanged hugs with their mothers and aunts.

"Have a good time," Aunt Joyce said to Buffy. " I know you'll make new friends right away. And honey...try not to get kicked out."

Alex winced when she saw the hurt look on Buffy's face, and readied herself for a blowout. Even her Mom seemed surprised at Aunt Joyce's words.

To her credit, Buffy just took a deep breath and said "I'll try."

The five of them said goodbye and the three girls left.

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"Ok," said Alex as they got out of her car at the student parking lot. "Buffy needs to meet with principal Flutie. Can you take her there, Kara? I jsut remembered I have to meet with Dr. Gregory about a biology question."

" I know the way," said Kara, rolling her eyes. "Buffy might be safe with me." Buffy chuckled. She'd alread ypicked up that alex was the ultra responsible big sister.

"Smart ass," muttered Alex. She looked to Buffy. "Don't worry, things will be fine. I'm sure thigns here are very similar to your old school." Buffy smiled her thanks as Alex said. "Ok, I gotta go. Have fun. Love you both. Go 'way." All three laughed as Alex went in one direction and Kara led Buffy in another.

"Principal Flutie is a good guy," Kara was saying as Buffy took in her surroundings. Yeah, it was a lot the same as Hemry. There was what was clearly the drama club, being way gestury as they spoke. The jocks standing around, laughing and shoving each other like a bunch of meatheads, the brainy kids were already studying. A typical American high school.

So why did it give Buffy a wiggins?

"He's a good guy," continued Kara. "But he tries a little too hard for the whole "your principal is your friend" thing. But, at the same time, he tries for the discipline, you know?"

Buffy nodded and both girls looked up to see a dark hairedboy on a skateboard coming right towards them with obviously little or no control over the thing.

"Coming through, coming through," he shouted to the crowd which parted for him. "Not sure how to stop." He looked at Buffy and Kara. "Kara!" he called out. "Don't let me die!" As he said that, the skateboard came flying out from under him. Buffy managed to catch him before he hit the ground though. She looekd over and saw Kara holding the skateboard. She must have caught it in mid air.

Weird.

"HOW many times do i have to tell you not to try and ride this thing in a crowd?" Kara asked the boy, slapping the skateboard into his hands.

"At least one more?" said the boy with an endearing, lopsided smile. He looked at Buffy as Kara shook her head. "Thanks for the save." He said. "You must be Kara's cousin."

"Yeah, hi, I'm Buffy," she said, blushing a little under his scrutiny.

"Buffy, this is one of my good friends, Xander Harris,' said Kara. She pointed to a pretty, red haired girl who came walking up. The poor girl was wearing clothes that her mother had obviously picked out. Buffy felt immediately sorry for her, sensing she was kind of awkward. "And this is Willow Rosenberg," Kara continued as a another boy walked up. "Wow. The gangs all here. And this is Jesse Mcnalley. Guys, this is my cousin, Buffy Summers."

"Nice to meet you," said Willow, shyly.

"Yeah," said Jesse, trying to be cool. Any cousin of Kara's is...well, a potential friend of ours."

Buffy chuckled shaking her head as Xander turned to Willow.

"Willow!" he exclaimed happily. "You're SO the person I wanted to see!"

"Really?" asked Willow,beaming at him.

"Yeah," said Xander. "Remember our homework? Well, I kinda had a problem with the math."

Willow's smile got a bit less bright as she asked him," Which part?" Buffy and Kara exchanged a look, Kara nodding slightly at Buffy's unasked question. It was pretty clear that Willow was crushing on Xander.

Xander looked embarrassed. "The math," he answered. He looked at her plaintively. "Can you help me tonight? Please? Be my study buddy?"

Willow shook her head at him. "What's in it for me?" she asked him, clearly amused.

"A shiny nickel!" Xander singsonged, making it sound like equivalent to the city of El Dorado or King Solomon's Mines.

Willow laughed. "Ok. I'll help you."she said. "Do you have "Theories In Trig"? You should check it out."

Xander looked lost. "Check it out?" he asked.

Willow rolled her eyes. "From the library," she told him. "Where the books live."

"Right," said Xander. "I'm there! See? I WANT to change."

"Wait," said Jesse. "The books LIVE somewhere?"

All three girls just sort of rolled their eyes at him.

"Well, we better go so Buffy can make her meeting with Principal Flutie," said Kara. "We'll see you guys at lunch?" All three agreed as Buffy and Kara walked off.

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A short time later, Buffy found herself sitting across from Principal Flutie. She could already see that the middle aged man was caught somewhere between the old school of strict discipline and the new school of sensitivty. She hoped sensitivity won out when it came to her past.

"Buffy Summers," he said, looking at her transcript then at Buffy. Late of Hemry High in Los Angeles. You have an interesting career, Miss Summers. Very colorful." He smiled and did the very last thing Buffy expected him to do.

He tore the transcript into four pieces.

"Welcome to Sunnydale, Buffy," he said warmly. "You get a clean slate here. What's past is past. We're not interested in what this piece of paper says. Even if it says..." Buffy was just starting to hold out some hope as he looked down and read the paper. "...WHOA!. Ahem, er. We nurture the whole student here. The INNEr student." As he spoke, he took the four pieces of Buffy's transcript and lay them carefully on his desk, fitting them together. "Other schools might look at the incredible decline in grade point average...HERE we look at the young WOMAN with the incredible decline in her grade point average." He reached for his tape dispenser as he looked again at the transcript. "Other schools might look at the reports of gang fights..."

"Uh, er, Mr. Flutie..." began Buffy nervously.

Flutie raised a hand. "The students here are free to call Bob," he told her.

"Ok...Bob," said Buffy.

"But they don't," Flutie informed her in a tone that said they were free to call him that in name only. "Ever." He started applying tape to the transcript's pieces.

Buffy sighed and tried again. "Mr. Flutie," she said. "I know my transcripts are a little...colorful..."

"Hey," said Flutie. "we're not caring about that."He paused and got a thoughtful look. "Do you think "colorful" is the word? Not "dismal". Because, offhand, I'd go with dismal."

Buffy got defensive."It wasn't THAT bad!" she protested.

Flutie pointed to her transcript. "You burned down the school gym."

Buffy squirmed. "I did," she admitted. "But you gotta see the whole picture. That gym was full of vam...asbestos." She winced at her own attempt at a save.

Flutie wen tback into Mr. Sensitive mode. "Buffy," he said. "don't worry. Any other school they might say "watch your step" or "we'llbe watching you" or even "get within 100 yards of the gym with a book of matches and you'll grow up in juvie hall" but that's just not the way here. Here, we want to service your needs and help you to respect our needs. And, if your needs and our needs don't mesh..." He smiled blandly and slipped the freshly taped transcript back into her file.

Buffy sighed. Again.

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A few minutes later, more depressed than ever, Buffy left Flutie's office, and distractedly ran smack dab into another student, knocking her books out of her bag and all over the floor. "Oh! I'm SO sorry," she said as she knelt to start picking them up. "I totally wasn't watching where I was going."

"It's ok,' said a boys voice, and Buffy noticed he'd knelt down to help her. "I was a little distracted myself. I guess we were both at fault."

Buffy looked up as he handed her some of her books. They both froze as their eyes met. Buffy felt herself entranced. The boy was good looking, tall and with an athletic build. he had longish jet black hair and a mustache. But what captivated Buffy the most was his eyes. Green, kinda sad, with the weight of the world in them, yet, still with a spark of mischief. If Buffy were in a different state, she'd have realized he was just as entranced.

"Er," he said after a long moment. "I don't know you, do I?"

Buffy put the rest of her thigns in her bag and they both stood. "What? Oh, No," she said. "I'm new. I'm Buffy Summers."

The boy smiled. "Bill Gordon," he said, putting out his hand. "Is me. Hi." They shook. Buffy noticed he had quite a grip. "Nice to meet you."

"You too," said Buffy. Both stood there a bit awkwardly. "Maybe I'll see you around. Maybe at school. Since we both...go there." She winced.

"Er, yeah, that'd be great," he said. "Because I'd like to see more of you. Wait, not MORE as in, skin or anything, just, to see you more often." He too visibly winced. "I gotta go," he said.

"Me too,": said Buffy, her face flushed. "Bye."

"Bye."

They both turned and left.

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A short time later, Buffy sat in her first hour class, earnestly taking notes, trying to keep up.

"It's estimated nearly four million people died in that one four year period," said the teacher. "But the really of the Black Plague is that it started in Europe as what? As an early form of germ warfare. The plague was first found in Asia, and a Kipchak army actually catapaulted plague -infested corpses into a Genoese trading post. Ingenious. If you look at the map on page 63 you can trace the spread of the disease..."

Buffy sighed as the other kids started opening their books, and she was forced to look down to see her notebook. No textbook for Buffy. She looked around, helplessly. Fortunately a very pretty dark haired girl next to her took pity on her.

"Here,"she said, holding her book where they could both see it.

"Thanks said Buffy.

"And this popular plague led to what social changes?" asked the teacher.

The class ended and the girl came up to Buffy. ":Hi,"she said in a totally self assured way. "I'm Cordelia."

Buffy smiled at her. "I'm Buffy," she said. She thought she'd heard either Kara or Alex mention a Cordelia, but, she wasn't sure.

"If you're looking for a text book, there's probably a few in the library," said Cordelia helpfully.

"Oh, thanks," said Buffy. "And where would that be?"

"C'mon," said Cordelia brightly. "I'll show you."

Cordelia kept a running dialogue going as the two made their way to the library. "So you transferred her from Hemry in LA?" she asked Buffy. "You're Alex and Kara Danvers cousin, right?

"Yeah," answered Buffy.

"Oh, I would kill to live in La," Cordelia gushed. "To be that close to that many shoes! Why did you move here?"

"Because my Mom moved here," answered Buffy. "I mean, I came with her, but, it was her choice. See, my folks split up, and my Mom wanted a "fresh start".Then Uncle Jeremiah died and Mom and Aunt Eliza thought this would be a good place for that."

Cordelia nodded. "Well," she said. "If you hang with me and mine, you'll be accepted in no time. Of course, I do have to test your coolness factor. You're from LA so we can skip the written, but, let's see...vamp nail polish?"

"Over?" Buffy guessed, still trying to figure out if Cordelia was joking about the written or not.

"SO over," said Cordelia. "James Spader?"

Buffy giggled. "He NEEDS to call me!"

"Frappacinos?"

"Trendy but tasty."

"John Tesh?"

"The Devil."

"Well, that one was pretty much a gimmee,"said Cordelia. "but you passed."

"Oh, GOOD," exclaimed Buffy, as if she were relieved. The two of them walked up to a drinking fountain, which was being used by none other than Willow.

"Hi Willow," said Buffy brightly as the girl stood back up. She started to smile, then saw Cordelia and looked like a deer in headlights.

"Willow, nice dress!" said Cordelia. "It's good to know you've seen the softer side of Sears!"

Buffy winced both at Cordelia's sudden viciousness and at the hurt look on Willow's face.

"Well, my mom picked it out," said Willow, almost apologizing."

"Well, it's no WONDER you're such a guy magnet!" said Cordelia witheringly. She indicated the fountain. "You done?"

"Oh,"said Willow, looking at the floor and moving aside.

"You wanna fit in around here," said Cordelia to Buffy, moving up to the fountain. " the first rule is know your losers". Once you can identify them all by sight, they're a lot easier to avoid." She bent down to get a drink as Buffy unhappily watched Willow leave. She desperately wanted to say something to Cordelia, but, she had remembered what Kara, it turned out, had said about her and Buffy figured this was not a girl she wanted to make an enemy of the first day.

"-and if you're not too busy catching up," said Cordelia a few minutes later as they approached the library. "you should come out to The Bronze tonight."

"The who?" asked Buffy, confused.

"The Bronze," answered Cordelia. "Didn't your cousins tell you about it? It's the only club worth going to around here. They let anybody in, but it's still the scene. It's kind of in the bad part of town."

"Where's that?" asked Buffy curiously.

Cordelia laughed. "About a half a block from the good part of town. We don't have a lot of town."

Buffy chuckled a little. "Well, I'll try. Thanks."

"Good," said Cordelia. "I'll see you at gym and you can tell me all there is to know about yourself."

Buffy shook her head as Cordelia left and muttered. "Won't that be fun?" She walked through the library doors.

The library was huge, filled with dark wood and streaming sunlight. it was also empty. Not a single student. She wandered further in and called out "Hello? Is anybody here?"

A hand reached out from behind her, touching her shoulder and startling her. She spun around to see a middle aged man with a certain quiet intensity. He was good looking in a "your Dad's cute for an old guy" kind of way.

"Can I help you?" he asked.

"Oh, er, I was looking for some books,"Buffy answered. "I'm new."

"Miss Summers?" he asked. Buffy noticed he had a British accent.

"Good call," said Buffy feeling a bit nervous. "I guess I'm the only new kid."

"I'm Mr. Giles," he said. "The librarian."

"Great," said Buffy. "Do you have..."

"I know what you're after," interrupted Giles. He led her to the check out counter and pulled out a book sliding it over to Buffy. It was a huge, leather bound tome with a single word set in gild across the cover.

 _Vampyr._

Buffy recoiled and stepped away from the desk, eyeing Giles suspiciously. "That's NOT what I'm looking for," she said.

"Are you sure?" asked Giles looking confused.

"I'm way sure," said Buffy, backing further away and exiting the library as he turned his back and put the book away.

Can't they just leave me alone? she thought to herself.

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A/N: I wasn't going to use my Bill Gordon OC in this story, but, I got an idea for him that I liked too much to pass up, so, since Buffy had already met Xander, used the "you forgot your stake" scene to introduce them to each other. Hope you all enjoyed the chapter. Please read and review.


	4. Chapter 3 Welcome To The Hellmouth Pt 2

**Chapter Three Welcome To The Hellmouth Pt 2**

Aura walked from the gym into the locker room with her friend, Aphrodesia after gym class. As could probably be expected in a typical American high school, the topic of conversation was the new kid, Kara Danver's cousin, Buffy Summers.

"The new kid?" said Aphrodesia. "She seem kinda weird. And who names their kid "Buffy" anyway?"

"Well," said Aura, mentally shaking her head. Who was "Aphrodesia" to make fun of ANYBODY's name? . "the chatter in the caf is she got kicked out and that's why her Mom had to get a new job and move here."

"Neg!" said Aphrodesia.

"Pos!" said Aura. " She was starting fights."

"Negly!" said Aphrodesia, opening her gym locker.

"Well, I heard it from Blue," said Aura, opening her own.. "And she SAW the transcripts..." She cut off as an object came flying out of her locker at her. She screamed and jumped back. Both girls looked down at the floor.

Lying in front of Aura's locker, was the dead body of a boy, his eyes open horribly wide. Both girls screamed for al lthey were worth.

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Kara caught up with Buffy as both were headed to lunch. They hadn't had any classes together so far, and Kara was dying to find out how Buffy's day had been so far.

"Hey," she said as they headed outside into the quad. "How is it going so far?''

Buffy smiled. "Hey," she said. She looked a trifle spooked to Kara. "Oh, you know, first day in a new school. Met some new people. Cordelia for one."

Kara sighed. "And how did that go?" wondering how The Queen Of Mean had treated her cousin.

Buffy shook her head. "She was really nice...to me at least," she answered. "She reminded me of some of my old friends at Hemry. THEN we ran into Willow at a drinking fountain."

Oh boy," said Kara, knowing full well how Cordelia treated Willow, Xander and Jesse. "Was it brutal?"

"A little," said Buffy. "I felt really bad for Willow."

Kara smiled. Buffy had definitely changed a lot. "Well, I'm sure she'd benefit from having you hang out with us," she said. "Anything else happen?"

Buffy blushed a little. "Well, I kinda met a boy. Do you know Bill Gordon?"

Kara winced inwardly as she saw Willow sitting at the fountain, unpacking an obviously very healthy lunch. "Yeah," said Kara. "When the Danvers' adopted me, believe it or not, Bill, Willow, Xander, Jesse, and even Cordelia were all friends, though Cordelia was already starting to drift a little. I met them all my first day and they let me into their circle." She smiled at that. They had all, even Cordelia, gone out of the way to make her feel welcome."We were all pretty inseparable for awhile."

"What happened?" asked Buffy.

"Well, Cordy started hanging with the more popular kids," answered Kara ruefully. "Her family is fairly wealthy and her Mom has always been snobbish. Cordy's newfound popularity kinda made that rub off on her. She started treating Willow, Xander and Jesse really badly. For some reason, I always kinda fell under her radar. And Bill...well, Bill's family is almost as wealthy as Cordelia's. His parents have always been really distant with him. Luckily, his grandmother lived with him and basically raised him. Then, she died when we were 12."

"Oh, poor Bill," said Buffy. Kara almost smirked. Kara was, clearly, no expert on human behavior, having only lived amongst them for six years, but, even she could tell, Buffy was attracted to Bill.

"Yeah," said Kara. "He kinda withdrew after that. Rumor has it he started hanging out with some older kids who were in sort of a gang. He did start dressing differently, wearing a leather jacket a lot. When he got his license, he asked for a motorcycle instead of a car." They got to the fountain, where Willow was. "Hi Willow,": she said, sitting down next to her.

"Hi Willow," said Buffy, sitting next to Kara.

"Hey guys," said Willow. "I take it you were talking about Bill?"

"Yeah," said Kara. "Buffy met him earlier today."

Willow nodded. "Lately, he's been more distant than normal," she said. "I never really see him hang out with anybody anymore."

"Me either," said Kara sadly. Strangely, Bill's behavior shifted around the time her adopted father had died.

"Willow," said Buffy. "I have this burning desire to...not flunk all my classes, and Kara here tells me you are just the person to help me catch up." Kara smiled, both at Buffy's attempts to befriend Willow and her attempt to change the subject away from Bill Ah well, they shared a bedroom. Kara could always grill her more later.

Willow brightened considerably. "Oh," she said. "I can DEFINITELY help you there. If you have sixth period free we could meet at the library."

"Or not," said Buffy , a little too quickly. . "Or we could meet someplace quieter...noisier. That place just kinda gives me a wiggins."

"It has that effect on most kids," acknowledged Kara.

"I love it though," said Willow brightly. "It's a great collection, and the new librarian is really cool."

"He's new?" asked Buffy, seeming disturbed.

"Yeah," said Willow. "He just started. I've spoken with him. He used to be a curator of some British Museum. Or maybe it was THE British Museum. I'm not he knows EVERYTHING and he brought a number of historical volumes and biographies and... and I the dullest person alive or what?"

"Not at all," said Buffy, smiling reassuringly.

"I love your enthusiasm, Will," said Kara, earning a grateful smile from Willow.

Xander and Jesse came walking up. "Hey," said Xander. "You guys busy? Are we interrupting? We'll interrupt."

"Hey," said Jesse, amiable.

"Hey guys," said all three girls.

"How's your first day going, Buffy?" asked Jesse. "We all want to make you feel right at home." He paused for a moment. "Unless you have a scary home that is."

Kara reached over and lightly smacked his arm. "She lives with ME, Jesse," she said.

"I stand by my concern," joked Jesse.

"So," Xander chimed in. "What do you like? What do you do for fun? What do you look for in a man? Let's hear it."

"Do you have any deep dark secrets we can publish?" added Jesse.

"Gee,"said Buffy, looking back and forth between them, "Everybody wants to know about me. How...keen."

"Well, not a lot happens in a one Starbucks town like Sunnydale," explained Xander. "So, you're big news."

"I'm not," said Buffy, looking uncomfortable. "I'm really not."

Just as Kara was about to tel lthe guys to back off, Bill came walking over.

"Hey guys," he said, looking to Kara a bit awkward. "Hi Buffy." Kara smile as Buffy blushed, and Bill couldn't take his eyes off of her.

"Hi Bill," said Buffy.

Xander looked back and forth between them. "Do you two know each other?" he asked.

"Oh, Buffy and me go way back," said Bill with a grin.

"That's right," said Buffy , playing along. "Old friends, very close."

"Then, there was that period of estrangement," added Bill. " where I think we were both growing as people, but here we are and it's like old times."

" I'm very touched." said Buffy.

Buffy laughed, as Kara muttered "in the head."

"Oh, I wanted to return this," said Bill , producing the stake that Buffy had dropped earlier. "The only thing I can think is that tou're building a really little fence."

Buffy hastily took the stake and shoved it into her purse. "Oh no," she said. "This is for self defense. Everyone has them in LA. Pepper spray is just so passe."

Cordelia suddenly appeared behind Jesse, a look of disdain on her face. "Are these people bothering you?" she asked, indicating Jesse, Xander and Willow.

"Oh, NO!" said Buffy to her question. "NOT bugging me at ALL!"

"She wasn't hanging out with us!" squeaked Willow, trying to cover for them.

"Hey Cordelia," said Jesse, obviously smitten.

Cordelia didn't even look at him. "Oh, PLEASE," she said. She turned to Buffy. "I don't want to interrupt your downward mobility. I just thought I'd tell you, you won't be meeting Coach Foster, the woman with the chest hair, because gym has been cancelled today due to the extreme dead guy in Aura's locker."

"What?" said Buffy and Kara together.

"What are you talking about?" asked Willow.

"Some guy...Josh Randall, was stuffed in Aura's locker," said Cordelia.

"Dead." said Buffy.

"WAY dead," said Cordelia.

"So, not just a LITTLE dead?" quipped Xander.

Cordelia gave him a look that could make paint peel. "Don't you have an elsewhere to be?" she asked.

Jesse looked to Cordelia. "You know," he said. "if you need a shoulder to cry on...or nibble on..." She just put out her hand in a "talk to the hand" motion.

"How did he die?" asked Buffy, ignoring their stares.

"I...don't know?" said Cordelia, mystified at the question.

"Well, were there any marks?" Buffy pressed.

"God,!" said Cordelia. "Morbid much? I didn't ask!

"I gotta book, " said Buffy as they gathered their things. "I'll see you guys later."

"What is her deal?" asked Cordelia as Buffy left. Kara noticed Bill looking at her strangely too.

"I gotta go too," announced Kara. "See you guys."

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A short time later, having confirmed the dead guy was indeed the victim of a vampire, Buffy stormed into the library, all attitude. "Ok," she said. "What's the sitch?"

Giles turned from the books she was shelving. "I beg your pardon?" he asked.

"You heard about the dead guy, right?" asked Buffy.

"Yes."

"Well, it's the weirdest thing," Buffy continued. "He's got these two little holes in his neck, and all his blood has been , isn't that bizarre? Aren't you just going "ooooooh"?"

Giles sighed and turned to her. "I was afraid of this," he said.

"Well, *I* wasn't!" snapped Buffy. "It's my first day! I was worried I woudl be behind in all my classes. That I wouldn't make any friends. That I'd have last months hair. I wasn;t expecting there tobe vampires on campus." She took a breath. "And I don't care."

Giles looked at her thoughtfully. "Then why are you here?" he asked.

Buffy nearly took a step back, totally thrown by the question. "To...tell you I don't care," she finally answered. "Which I don't. And have now told you. So...bye."She turned, shaking her head at the lamness of her exit.

"Will he rise?" Giles called out, stopping her in her tracks.

She sighed. "No, He's just dead," she said.

"Can you be sure?" asked Giles.

"To make you a vampire they have to suck your blood, then you have to suck their blood," said Buffy. "It's a whoel big sucking thing. Mostly, they just kill you... WHY am I still alking to you?"

Giles pressed further. "You have no idea what's going on here, do you? Do you think it's just a coincidence? You coming here? That boy was just the beginning."

Buffy almost started crying. "WHY can't you just leave me alone?" she asked.

"Because you are the Slayer," answered Giles. "Into every generation, a Slayer is born. One girl in all the world, a Chosen One. One born with...

Buffy joined him for the next part "the strength and skill to stop the vampires..." Giles stopped so Buffy finished alone. "To stop the spread of their evil...blah blah..I've HEARD it all, ok?"

"I don't understand this attitude," said Giles, truly perplexed. He'd never heard of a Slayer giving her Watcher this much trouble before. "You've accepted your destiny. You've slain vampires before."

"Yeah," said Buffy. "And I have both been there and done that, and I am now moving on!"

"What do you know about this town?" asked Giles.

"It's two hours on the freeway from Neiman Marcus?" guessed Buffy. "The high scvhool has a really annoying librarian?"

"Dig a bit," said Giles going into full lecture mode. "into the history of this place. You'll find a string of odd occurences. I believe this area is a sort of center of mystic energy. Things gravitate here that you might not find elsewhere.

"Like vampires," finished Buffy for him. Suddenly, she had a large book in her arms. Giles kept piling on more books as he spoke.

"Like werewolves," he said. "Zombies. Succubi. Incubi. Everything you ever dreaded was under your bed but told yourself couldn't be by the light of day."

Buffy looked at the stack of books in her arms. "What did you do?" she asked. "Send away for the Time Life series?"

"Er, well, yes,": answered Giles, straightening his glasses.

"Did you get the free phone?" asked Buffy.

"The, uh, the calendar."

"Cool." Buffy suddenly remembered her own agenda. "First, I am a VAMPIRE Slayer. Second, I am RETIRED. Hey, I have an idea! Why don't YOU kill them?"

Giels sighed...again. "I'm a WATCHER," he explained. "I don't have the skills."

"Oh come on," said Buffy dropping the books on the counter. "Stake through the heart, a little direct sunlight, it's like falling off a log."

Giles looked at her exasperatedly. "The Slayer slays," he told her. "The Watcher..."

"Watches?" interrupted Buffy throwing Giles off.

"Yes," he said, then caught himself. "NO! He-he trains her...prepares her.."

"Prepares me for WHAT?" shouted Buffy, rounding on him. "For getting kicked out of school? For losing all my friends? For having to fight for my life every single night and never being able to tell anyone because it might endanger them? For telling my parents and they have me fucking comitted until I recant my story? Go ahead, Giles. Prepare me for that." She gave him a defiant look and stormed out of the library, Giles following.

Neither noticed someone step out from the stacks. Xander, who had come in looking for that book Willow had mentioned looked at the door, desperately trying to form a coherent thought.

"WHAT?" was all he could come up with.

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Kara, who had followed Buffy to the gym, seeing her talk to Principal Flutie, then saw her force her way into the gym and head to the library, was having much the same reaction as Xander. She had listened in on Buffy and Gile's conversation using her enhanced hearing, then, ducked around a corner as Buffy came out of the library, Giles a moment behind.

"It's getting worse!" he called out to them. Buffy turned around and walked back to him so they could converse quietly. Kara had to strain a bit, but she managed to hear what they said.

"WHAT'S getting worse?" asked Buffy tiredly.

"The influx of the undead," answered Giles, earnestly, but quietly. "the supernatural occurences. It's been building for years now...There is a REASON you are here and a REASON why it's now!"

"Yeah," Buffy scoffed. "Because NOW is when my Mom MOVED here!"

"Something is coming," said Giles imploringly. "Something is going to happen here soon."

"Gee,' snarked Buffy . "Can you vague that up for me?"

"As far as I can tell," said Giles, getting exasperated with the girls. "the signs point to a crucial mystical upheaval, very soon. Days. Possibly less."

Buffy remained unconvinced and turned to leave. "Come on," she said

. "This is Sunnydale! How bad an evil can there BE here?" She walked away, leaving a flummoxed Giles.

Kara left for her next replaying all that she'd heard in her head. Vampire's? Slayers? Watchers? Even being from another planet, kara had a hard time wrapping her head around the supernatural being real. One thing was sure. Her cousin had a lot of explaining to do.

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Across town, in a subterranian cave, a large vampire knelt by a pool of blood. Other vampires milled around, some carrying torches.

"The sleeper will wake," intoned the large vampire, in an almost praying tone. "The sleeper will wake." He said the words over and over. "The sleeper will wake. The sleeper will wake, and the world will bleed." He looked upwards. "Amen."

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A/N: Hope you liked the chapter. A couple of passages were almost no different than in the actual episode I'm afraid. Unfortunately, scenes like Buffy and Giles confronting each other, well, not really a lot I can do different with those scenes. Please, let me know what you thought.


	5. Chapter 4 Welcome To The Hellmouth Pt 3

**Chapter Four Welcome To The Hellmouth Pt 3**

Kara and Alex both watched with varying levels of amusement as Buffy ransacked her closet, tossing clothes everywhere. She grabbed two outfits, and held on up in front of herself as she looked into her full length mirror. It was rather...revealing. "Hi," she said disdainfully. "I'm an enormous slut!" She tossed it aside and held the other one up. This one was somewhat frumpy. "Hi! Would you like to buy a copy of Watchtower?" She groaned and threw it onto the bed next to her other one. "I used to be SO good at this."

"What changed?" asked Kara, trying to prompt Buffy into talking about the stuff she had overheard in the library earlier. She hadn't had a chance to out and out ask Buffy about it, and also didn't want to ask in front of Alex. Not that Alex wouldn't understand, seeing as she kenw all about Kara being from another planet, and her powers, but, whatever it meant to be a vampire Slayer, it was not her place to bring it up and basically tell Alex Buffy's secret. Kara knew how angry she would be if it was Alex who told Buffy her own secret.

"Oh, you know," Buffy said evasively. "Things started changing in LA, and I was going out less, and dressing for a club just got less and less important. I guess it's not like riding a bike. You DO forget how."

"Are you out of practice?" asked Alex, teasingly. "Or just nervous wondering if someone with green eyes and jet black hair is going to be there?" Kara and Buffy had told Alex about Buffy running into Bill and her attraction to him was clear to Alex as well as Kara.

"Don't forget the athletic build and broody good looks," piped up Kara, grinning as they ganged up teasing Buffy.

"And an ass you could bounce a quarter off of," muttered Buffy. She then turned in horror as her two cousins started giggling hysterically. She turned beet red having not realized she'd said that so loud.

None of them heard Joyce and Eliza enter the room until Eliza cleared her throat. "Glad you girls are getting along," quipped Eliza, grinning.

Jpyce chuckled and looked at the clothes. "Guessing your closet didn't explode. Are you girls going out?"

Buffy chuckled. "Yeah, Mom," she affirmed. "Kara is taking me to a club tonight."

"I have a date," said Alex.

Joyce looked thoughtful. "Will there be boys there?"

Buffy rolled her eyes. "No, Mom," she snarked. "It's a nun-club. ." Kara and Alex giggled again then winced as Buffy eeped as Joyce smacked her on her butt.

"Don't get cute," Joyce warned, partially seriously and partially playfully. "Just, be careful."

"We will Aunt Joyce," Kara promised.

"I better go get ready for my date," said Alex, turning to leave the room. "You guys have fun tonight."

There was a brief awkward silence after Alex left the room. Kara exchanged a look with Eliza, figuring things were still not great between Aunt Joyce and Buffy.

"We're really glad you guys are here," said Eliza. Kara nodded sincerely.

Joyce looked around. "I think we can make it work here," she said. "I've got my positive energy flowing. I'm gonna get the gallery on it's feet. We may have already found a space."

"That's great, Mom," said Buffy, sincerely but a little distractedly.

"And that school is a very nurturing environment," Joyce continued, "which is what you need."

"Moooom," protested Buffy. Kara chuckled, understanding exactly how they felt.

Joyce held up a hand. "Oh, not TOO nurturing, I know," she said. "You girls are sixteen and Alex is almost 18. I've read all about the dangers of over parenting, and I'm sure Eliza has too.." Eliza just shrugged. As far as Kara knew, her foster parents never read a book about parenting. They simply relied on the tried and true method of remember what your parents did, and trying to do what worked.

Joyce gave Eliza a look that said "thanks for the back up". She paused a moment, then said to Buffy, honestly,"It's hard. New town and all. It's hard for me too. I'm trying to make it work. I'm GOING to make it work."

Buffy smiled softly. "I know, Mom," she said.

"We're all going to make it work," said Eliza, decisively.

Joyce ran her fingers through Buffy's hair. "You're a good girl, Buffy," she said sincerely. Lovingly. "You just fell in with the wrong crowd. But, that's all behind us now."

Buffy smiled again. "it is," she said decisively. "From now on, I'm only hanging out with the living..." she paused as she realized what she'd just said. "I-I mean the lively...people."

Kara was not much of a smirker, but, she smirked at her cousin's attempted save. Luckily, Aunt Joyce and her mother didn't seem to pick up on it.

"Ok," said Joyce. "You girls have fun tonight." Eliza nodded.

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As they walked towards the Bronze, Buffy couldn't help but notice Kara seemed to have something on her mind. It was pretty easy to tell actually, the way she furrowed her brow and pursed her lips when she was thinking. "Penny for your thoughts," she said, then smiled teasingly. "I HOPE they're worth more than THAT."

Kara chuckled, brushing a strand of her strawberry blonde hair behind her ear. She seemed to make a decision and took a breath. "Buffy, what's a Slayer?" she blurted out.

Buffy froze. How the Hell could Kara know about that? She tried to cover and play it cool, probably failing miserably. "Wh-what are you talking about?" she asked, rather lamely.

Kara turned to look at her. "You were acting so strange after Cordelia told us about Josh," she said. "I followed you. I was outside the library when you were talking to Mr. Giles. I heard everything you said." Vampires, inccubi, succubi, Slayers, Watchers,I heard it ALL."

Buffy tried to think fast. "Kara," she said. "the library doors are pretty thick. You must have misheard us. Mr. Giles likes horror books and was trying to sell me on one." It sounded REALLY lame to her own ears.

Kara shook her head. "I heard you outside the library too," she said. ""It's getting worse". "A mystical upheaval very soon". Oh and don't forget "It's Sunnydale. How big of an evil can there be?". Kara looked at her imploringly. "Buffy, please, tell me what's going on. I promise, I'll believe you."

Buffy suddenly looked at Kara suspiciously. "HOW could you have heard us?" she asked. She stepped back. "A human might have heard our voices, but, couldn't make out THAT much detail."

Kara got that furrowed brow, pursed lips look again. "I have a secret too," she said. "I'll tell you mine if you tell me yours."

Buffy sighed again. They shared a room, even if she never slayed another vampire, Kara was likely to find out. "Ok," said Buffy. She took a deep breath. "Several months ago, well, you remember what I was like. Comparing me to Cordelia wouldn't be a stretch. One day, after school, this weird guy comes up to me and starts talking about how I'd been chosen, and only I could stop the vampires. At first I thought he was crazy, but then, he proved to me I was stronger and faster than normal humans, by throwing a knife at my head."

Kara looked shocked. "You should have decked him," she said.

"Oh, I did," said Buffy, grinning. Then she got sober again. "He took me out patrolling later and I staked my first vampire. Vampire's turn to ash when you stake them. Kinda hard to deny things after that.

"So, I played the part of the good little girl, and did my training and it was almost cool for a bit, but, both my grades and my social life started to go downhill. Then, this vampire lord, Lothos, came to town looking for me. By the time i took him out, i was totally labeled a delinquent, Merrick was dead, and i had burned down the school gym and gotten expelled. I tried to explain to my Mom and Dad but, they had me committed. After a couple of weeks, I learned to tell them what they wanted to hear, and they let me go home. By then, my folks divorce was finalized and, well, Uncle Jeremiah died and you know the rest." She choked up. "God, it feels kinda good to let that out, to someone who wasn't in the know, I mean. It's been so damned lonely!"

Kara nodded, tearfully. "Believe me, Buffy, I understand,' she said. "I've been really lonely too."

Buffy wiped her eyes. "You believe me, then?" she asked, hopefully. Buffy and her Mom had only been here a couple of days, but she and Kara were growing close and she didn't think she could handle Kara thinking she was crazy.

"I believe you, Buffy," said Kara. "Like I said, I have a secret of my own." She looked around to make absolutely sure nobody could hear them.

"I'm from another planet, Buffy. My real name is Kara Zor-El. My home planet, Krypton, was dying. It had been for years. 11 years ago, my father, Zor-El took a small ship and was scouting new possible planets for our people to relocate to. he crash landed here on Earth, in the desert not far from here, in fact. He met a scientist who worked for some government organisation. The scientist knew what would likely happen to my father if the authorities found him, so, he hid him and helped him repair his ship. My father was only here a few weeks,but he and the scientist became close friends. He left the scientist with a special radio before he left.

"Five years later, my father still hadn't convinced the council on Krypton to evacuate. So, he started work on a means of escape. He didn't have time to build a ship for all three of us, so, he built one for me. He and my mother put me in the ship and launched it, just before Krypton exploded. He sent me here, and my ship sent out a signal to that scientist. His name was Jeremiah Danvers. He and his wife found me, took me home and adopted me." She took off her glasses and started crying. "So, yeah, I understand the loneliness."

Buffy felt tears spring anew to her own eyes. God, a year ago she would have thought Kara was crazy. But, now, of course she believed her. She went to her cousin and embraced her. Kara hugged her back, as if clinging to a life preserver. "Oh, God, Kara," she said. "I've lost a lot since becoming the Slayer, but, you've lost so much more." They hugged each other closely for a minute. "So," asked Buffy. "Can you do anything other than the hearing thing?"

They disengaged and Kara looked around. They were by an alley way, and she saw an old pipe lying there. She grinned and picked it up. "Oh, one or two," she said, bending the pipe double.

Buffy's eyes widened. "Wow," she said. "I think you bent that more easily than I could have!"

"I'm faster than humans too," said Kara. "And I heal really fast. And..." she paused. "well, THAT would be more fun to SHOW you."

Buffy looked at her quizzically. "So, you use your powers to help people?" she asked.

Kara shook her head. "Oh, NO," she said. "One thing the Danvers' drilled into my head was not to draw attention to myself. You know, because of what the authorities would do if they found me out." She didn't need to elaborate. Buffy had seen a few of those movies. She had been quite the sci fi buff when she was younger. "So, I wore glasses I didn't need, got good grades, but nothing remarkable, like Willow, never tried out for any sports, or the choir or anything. That's part of why it's been so lonely. Just, trying not to be noticed.

Buffy got sad and hugged her again. "Well," she said, huskily. "You're not alone anymore."

Kara hugged her back. "You either," she said. "We're in this together now."

The two girls disengaged and smiled at each other, then continued on their way. A short time later, Kara reached out and gripped Buffy's arm, but, kept walking. "We're being followed," she whispered. Buffy nodded. She felt something too, She steered her cousin down another alley. They stopped about halfway down, and looked around. Buffy saw a pole overhead between the two buildings. "Ok," she said quietly. "You keep walking." Without another word she used her Slayer agility, and strength to jump up and grab the pipe, swinging up like an olympic gymnast, stopping in a sort of handstand on top of the pipe. Kara chuckled and continued her walk down the alley. Buffy saw a figure turn down the alley, then stop, looking confused at Kara now being alone.. It was in just the right spot.

Buffy swung down, intending to wrap her legs around the figures neck and throw it to the ground. Apparently, the figure sensed her, though, and threw itself to one side, making Buffy miss and "oof" as she hit the ground. Both rolled to a standing position facing each other.

The figure was a man, around six feet tall with brown hair and rather non descript features, except for his eyes. They looked far older than he did. He smiled a bit as Kara walked back. "Is there a problem?" he asked sardonically.

Buffy glared at him. "Yeah, there is,"she said, feeling something strange about the man. "Why are you following us?"

The guy smirked again, holding up his hands in supplication. "It's not what you're thinking,"she said. "I don't bite."

Kara looked at him, seeming to concentrate. "He has a heartbeat Buffy," she said.

They guy seemed amused as Buffy looked at him, perplexed. "Truth is, I thought you'd be taller. Or bigger. You know, more muscles and all. Still, you're pretty spry. You almost got me there!"

Buffy looked at him, starting to get angry. "I'm not THAT short!" she snapped. "Now, do you mind telling me what the hell you want?"

The guy looked at her, all mysterious. "Same thing you do," he said cryptically.

Buffy rolled her eyes. "Okaaaaay," she said. "What do *WE* want?"

The guy's face went deadly serious. "To kill 'em,"she said simply. "To kill 'em all."

"Sorry," said Buffy, doing her best impression of a game show announcer. "You're wrong. But you do get this lovely watch and a years supply of Turtle Wax as a parting gift. What we want, is to be left alone." Kara nodded in agreement

"You really think that's an option anymore?" asked the guy. He addressed both girls as if lecturing to students. "You're standing at the mouth of Hell, and it's about to open." He reached into his pockets and tossed a small box to each of the girls. "You'll need this. Don't turn your back on this. You've got to be ready."

"Ready for what?" Kara asked.

"The Harvest,"said the guy, turning to leave.

"Wait,"said Buffy. "Who are you?"

The guy stopped and looked back at her, the smirk returning. "Let's just say I'm a friend," she said turning to leave again.

Buffy rolled her eyes. "Maybe I don't WANT a friend," she said, slightly petulantly.

The guy never turned. "Maybe I was talking to HER,"he called back as he walked away.

Buffy stared at his retreating back. . She shook her head and both girls opened the boxes he had given them.

It was a rather expensive looking silver cross.

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The girls paid their cover charge and entered the Bronze, looking around. Kara noticed Cordelia, holding court over her Cordette's, as Xander and Jesse had come to call them. Buffy nudged her arm, and Kara turned to see Willow up at the bar, getting a soda. They both walked over.

"Hi!" said Buffy brightly.

"Hi Willow," said Kara.

"Oh! Hi! Hi," said Willow, looking surprised, but she smiled at the girls.

Kara looked around. Where's Xander and Jesse?" she asked.

"Oh, Jesse is on the prowl," answered Willow, amused. "Xander hasn't showed up yet. I was just waiting for him." She blushed a little.

"Oh?" said Buffy, smiling, intrigued. "Are you guys going out?"

"Oh no," said Willow. "We're just friends. We USED to go out, but we broke up."

"Oh? How come," asked Buffy.

Willow blushed. "He...stole my Barbie."

Buffy looked confused. Kara chuckled, having heard this story before. She ordered a vouple of soda's for her and Buffy as Willow continued.

"We were five," explained Willow.

"Oh," said Buffy, seemingly all she could think to say.

"I don't actually date a whole lot...lately," said Willow.

"Why not?" asked Buffy.

"Well,"said Willow, clearly a little embarrassed at being the center of attention. "When I'm with a boy I like, it's hard for me to say something cool, or witty, or...at ALL actually. I usually just make a few vowel sounds then run away."

Kara laughed. "It's not THAT bad," she said.

"It IS," insisted Willow. "I think boys are more interested in a girl who can talk."

Buffy looked at her. "Wow, you really HAVEN'T been dating lately,"

"It's probably easier for you ," said Willow, to Buffy.

"Oh yeah, REALLY easy," said Buffy, a little forlornly.

"I mean you don't seem too shy,"said Willow.

"Well, my philosophy is," Buffy said. "Er, do you WANT to hear my philosophy."

"I DO," said Willow.

"Life is short,"said Buffy.

Kara rolled her eyes.

"Life is short," said Willow, as if she had been expecting more.

"Not terribly original "I'll give you that," said Buffy. "But it's true. Why waste time being all shy? Why worry about if some guy who is probably just as nervous as you are is gonna laugh at you? You know? Seize the day. Because, tomorrow you might be dead."

"Oh," said Willow. "That's nice..."

"Nice and weird," said Kara. Buffy nudged her with her elbow.

Buffy chuckled. Willow seemed to find it a touch...morbid. Movement on the balcony caught her attention, and she looked up, seeing a familiar figure. "I'l lbe right back," she said.

Kara followed Buffy's gaze. "I'm going with you," she said.

"Oh, that's ok," said Willow, hurriedly. "You don't have to come back."

Buffy smiled at her new friends self effacing attitude. "We'll be right back, she said, more firmly. As they walked away, Kara heard Willow mutter "Sieze the day."

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Buffy and Kara made her way up to a balcony overlooking the stage, and saw Giles leaning up against it. They went up and joined him. " So, you like to party with the students?" Buffy teased. " Isn't that kinda skanky?"

Giles tone was withering. "Right, this is me having fun. Watching clown hair prance around is certainly MY idea of a party. I'd much rather be home with a cup of bovril and a good book."

Buffy grinned and shook her head. "You need a personality, stat."

Gile finally turned to look at them, noticing Kara's presence. "What is she doing here?" he asked accusingly.

"I'm her cousin," said Kara, a bit sharply.

"It's ok," said Buffy. "She knows.

"She KNOWS?" asked Giles, raising his voice a little.

"Yeah,' said Buffy, shushing him. "She knows. We share a bedroom so she was going to find out sooner or later. Giles, we can trust her. She knwos and understands. She has her own secrets."

Kara made sure no one was watching, then took Giles belt and, with little effort, lifted hi mbreifly off the ground. He gasped as she sat him back down. "If nothing else, you can always blackmail me. I don't tell, you don't tell sort of thing."

Giles sighed, and nodded, then turned back to watching the crowd. "This is the perfect breeding ground for vampiric activity," he admonished Buffy." Dark, crowded...Beside, I figured you'd show up, and I have to make you understand..."

"The Harvest is coming," interrupted Kara. "We know, your friend told us."

Giles started and gave her an anxious look. "What did you say?" he asked.

"The...Harvest," said Buffy carefully. "That's what your friend said. Does that mean anything to you? Because, I'm drawing a blank."

"I'm not sure," said Giles thoughtfully. "Who told you this?"

"This guy," said Buffy, fingering the cross she was wearing. "Tall, mysterious but kinda generic looking. I thought she was a friend of yours."

"No," said Giles, looking thoughtful."Did he say anything else?"

"Just something about the mouth of Hell,"said Kara irritably. "We really didn't like him!"

Giles nodded absently, and the three observed the crowd for a moment in silence, as the kids bopped and swayed to the rhythm of the band.

"Look at them," Giles said, sounding almost annoyed. "Throwing themselves about, completely unaware of the danger that surrounds them."

The girls didn't look at him. "Lucky them," they said together wistfully, then grinned at each other.

"Buy me a coke," teased Buffy

"Or, you could be right," Giles conceded, clearly having no idea what Buffy meant. "Maybe there is no trouble brewing. The signs have been wrong before. It's not like you're having the dreams."

Kara started, thinking of the nightmare Buffy had had before school this morning and exchanged a look with her cousin. . Both girls sighed and looked back at the crowd.

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Jesse pushed his way through the crowd at the Bronze. He hadn't seen Xander yet, and he'd noticed Willow talking to the new girl they'd met at school, Buffy and decided not to bother them, so now, he, Jesse McNally, was on the prowl.

He spotted his prey, Cordelia Chase, holding court over her little group of Cordettes. His breath caught. yeah, Cordelia was a bitch a lot of the time, especially to he, Willow and Xander, but he'd had a major crush on her almost since day one. He started over. Tonight is my night, he thought to himself. Tonight everything changes.

"My Mom doesn't even get out of bed anymore," Cordelia was saying. The doctor says it's Epstein Barr, but I'm like "please! It's chronic hepatitis, or at least Chronic Fatigue Syndrome." I mean, nobody cool has Epstein Barr anymore." Her Cordettes nodded like the mindless drones most of them were.

"Cordelia," said Jesse, walking over with what he hoped was a charming smile.

"Oh yay,"said Cordelia rolling her eyes at her friends. "It's my stalker."

Jesse ignored the insult and stood right next to her. All thought left his brain, and the only thing he could come up with to say was, "Hey, you look great!"

"Well, I'm glad we had this chat," said Cordelia, starting to move away.

""Listen," Jesse blurted out. "I, um, well, do you wanna dance?

Cordelia looked almost stunned. "With YOU?" she asked witheringly.

Jesse tried to laugh it off. "Well, uh, yeah," he said.

"Well, uh, NO," said Cordelia, completely dismissing him as she and her friends took off.

Jesse watched them go, ignoring the stab of pain he felt. "Plenty of other fish in the sea," he said to himself. "Oh yeah, back on the prowl. Witness me prowling."

As he renewed his prowl, he missed a really pretty blonde girl watching him, predatorially.

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Kara sighed as Buffy and Giles continued their argument.

"Look," Buffy said to Giles. "It's not like I'm saying I'll NEVER slay another vampire. If I run into one sure. I'm just not going to get way extra curricular with it." It sounded lame, even to her own ears.

"But will you be ready?" asked Giles. "There's so much you don't know about them, about your own powers. A vampire appears to be a normal human, until the feed is upon them. Only then do they reveal their demonic visage."

"Demonic visage?" quoted Buffy. "You're like a walking thesaurus. Besides, I KNOW all this!"

Ignoring Buffy's outburst, Giles continued. "The point is, a Slayer should be able to see them anyway. Without looking. Without thinking. Can you tell me if there's a vampire in this building?"

Buffy scanned the crowd. "Maybe?" she said.

"You should KNOW!" Giles said. "Even through this mass and this...din. You should be able to sense them. Try. Reach out with your mind."

Buffy took a deep breath and looked out over the crowd.

"You have to hone your senses,"instructed Giles. "Focus until the energy washes over you..."

"There's one," Buffy interrupted.

"What?" asked Giles, looking down at the crowd. "Where?"

Buffy pointed. "Right there,"she said. "Talking to that girl." Kara looked and nodded. There was definitely something strange about him.

In the far corner, a good looking young man was talking to a girl who had her back to them.

Giles looked doubtful. "But you don't KNOW..."

"Oh, please," interrupted Buffy. "That jacket? With the sleeves all rolled up? Deal with that outfit for a moment!"

Giles looked. "It's dated?" he asked.

"It's CARBON dated!" answered Kara.

Buffy continued. "Vampires always think fashion ended the year they died. Trust me, only someone who's been skulking underground for at least ten years would think that was the look!"

"But...but you didn't hone..." began Giles.

"Oh NO," exclaimed Kara suddenly, pointing. Buffy looked and saw what she did, and looked equally horrified.

The vampire was still chatting with the girl, motioning for her to come with him. He stepped aside and the girl turned, and Buffy's stomach dropped.

"Isn't that..." Giles began.

"Willow," said Kara.

"What is she doing?"

"Seizing the moment," Buffy threw back at him as they both headed off towards the stairs.

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A/N: Hope you enjoyed the chapter. Please read and review.


	6. Chapter 5 The Harvest Pt 1

**Chapter Five The Harvest Pt 1**

Kara and Buffy fought her way back down the stairs and looked around. There was no sign of Willow or the vampire she'd been talking to. They looked at each other and picked a direction and headed for the backstage door. The closer they got, the more of a crowd they had to fight their way through, but they finally made it and pushed through the door.

It was dark, and something of a labyrinth back squinted to see. No one seemed to be about, but they still made their way cautiously.

"I don't suppose Kryptonians can see in the dark," Buffy whispered to her.

"I'm afraid not," Kara whispered back. " I can see and hear way better than a human, but, not i nthe dark.

Kara felt more than saw Buffy nod. Buffy spied an old chair and snapped off two of the legs to make makeshift stake's. She handed one to Kara and whispered "Through the heart."

Suddenly, as they turned a corner, there was a figure in front of Kara face to face. Moving faster than Buffy, Kara grabbed him and slammed him against the wall, lifting him two feet off the floor, holding the stake to his chest, Buffy also holding hers at the ready. He made a girlish squeak.

It wasn't a him!

"Cordelia!" exclaimed Buffy, lowering her stake as Kara sat her down.

Damn, damn damn damn. Cordelia Chase! Of all people!

Cordelia's dumbfounded look was almost comical. "God!" she exclaimed. "WHAT exactly is your childhood trauma? Could you two BE any weirder?"

Both girls looked around. Oh goody. Cordelia's court was with her. "Did you guys see Willow?" Buffy asked. Kara was too mortified to speak. "Did she go by here?"

"Why?" asked Cordy. "Did you need to attack her with sticks too?"

Kara blushed and they gave up. They went back the way they came, leaving Cordelia and her friends still agape.

Cordelia regained her composure and took out her phone. "Excuse me," she said. "I need to call everybody I've ever met!"

They made their way back into the Bronze proper and found Giles waiting for them.

"Is he dead?"he asked , sounding impressed. "That was fast. Well done. I'd best get to the library. This "Harvest" is...""

"We didn't find them," said Kara.

Giles looked shocked. "The vampire isn't dead?" he asked.

"No," snapped Buffy. "But our social lives are on the critical list"

"What do we do,"asked Giles.

"You go on. We'll take care of it," Buffy said, and they turned to leave.

"Maybe I should come with you," said Giles, worried for some reason.

"We've got this," said Buffy as they left.

"Between the two of us, we can handle one vampire," Kara said, trying to be reassuring. As they passed out of Giles earshot she whispered to Buffy, "We CAN handle one by ourselves, right?" Buffy chuckled and nodded.

The cousins were so focused, they didn't notice as they brushed past Jesse, chatting up the same blonde girl who'd been watching him earlier.

"I haven't seen you before," he said to her, again trying to be charming. "Do you live around here."

"No," said the girl, smiling up at him, both innocently and flirtatiously. "But I have family here."

"Have I met them?" Jesse asked.

She gave him a mysterious smile. "You probably WILL," she said.

"What's your name?" asked Jesse, totally forgetting his humiliation at Cordelia's hands earlier.

"Darla."

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Across town, the large vampire stood by an alter, watching the pool of blood on the floor. He moved back, his eyes wide with religious fervor as a head shot up from the pool. While it had two eyes, a nose, a mouth, and two ears, other than that, there was virtually no resemblance to a human face. The head rose from the blood, a slim but obviously powerful body attached to it. It was wearing a black leather outfit with a vaguely SS look to it.

As powerful as the large vampire was, he obviously stood in awe of this one. "Master," he said reverently.

The Master looked back at him. "Luke," he said. "I'm weak."

"Come the Harvest, you'll be restored," said Luke with conviction.

"The Harvest," said the Master with almost the reverence Luke held him in.

"We are almost there, my Master," said Luke. "Soon, you'll be free."

The Master stepped forward, past Luke. He stopped and reached his hand out slowly. As he did, the air before him seemed to rippel slightly... a sort of mystic wall. He pulled his hand back and turned to Luke. "I must be ready," he said. "I need my strength."

"I've sent your servants to bring you some food," said Luke.

"Good," answered the Master simply, clearly dismissing Luke. "Luke," he called as the bigger vampire started to leave.

Luke paused. "Yes?" he asked.

"Bring me something...young," ordered the Master.

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Willow found herself nervously uncomfortable as she walked down the street with the boy, Thomas he'd said his name was, who had approached her at the Bronze. Leaving with him was totally unlike her, but Buffy's words had struck a chord with her. She looked around nervously. "Sure is dark," she said, desperately searching for SOMETHING to say.

Thomas shrugged. "It's night," was all he said.

"That's a dark time," agreed Willow, somewhat lamely. "Night. Traditionally." She was wishing they were already at the ice cream place so at least she wouldn't have to talk much while eating ice cream.

Thomas pretty much ignored her, then stopped and turned towards the woods.

"Er," said Willow. "The ice cream bar is down that way.-it's past Hamilton street."

Thomas smiled. "I know a shortcut," he said, taking her hand and leading her into the dark woods.

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As they arrived outside the Bronze, Buffy saw no sign of Willow or of the vampire. She looked at Kara, who looked worried and shook her head. Then she pointed. There was Xander, approaching the Bronze, carrying his skateboard. They went up to him.

"You two leaving already?" he asked.

"Xander, have you seen Willow?" Buffy asked him.

"Not tonight," answered Xander, not seeming too concerned.

"We need to find her," said Kara. "She left with a guy."

"We are talking about Willow, right?" asked Xander. He looked impressed. "Scoring at the Bronze. Work it, girlfriend!"

Buffy looked around, increasingly perturbed. "Where would they go?"

"Why?" asked Xander. . "Do you know something about Mr. Goodbar that she doesn't?" He seemed to think of something."Oh, hey,I hope he isn't a VAMPIRE, because then you'd have to SLAY him!"

Buffy and Kara looked at each other, shocked. First Giles, then the guy in the alley and now him. "Was there a school bulletin?" she asked Kara. "Was it on the news? Is there anybody in this town that doesn't know I'm the Slayer?"

Kara shrugged. "I didn't know until you told me," she said.

"I only know that you THINK you're the Slayer," said Xander. "And I only know that because I was in the library earlier when you were talking to The Man In Tweed."

Buffy shook her head. "Whatever," she said. "Just tell us where Willow would go."

Xander gave her a long look. "You're serious," he concluded.

"We're VERY serious, Xander," said Kara.

"We don't find her, there's gonna be another dead body in the morning."

Xander nodded. It was clear he believed her. "C'mon," he said and the two of them took off.

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Willow was getting increasingly creeped out. Thomas had led her into a graveyard. "Ok, this is nice," she said. "and-and scary. Are you SURE this way is faster?"

Thomas said nothing, he just continued to hold onto her hand and pull her along. He'd seemed so nice and charming at The Bronze, but now he just seemed...almost predatory.

He stopped at a small mausoleum. The entrance was bathed in blackness. "Ever been inside one of these?" he asked her.

"No," she answered, trying to pull away. "And no thank you."

"C'mon," he said, moving closer. "What are you afraid of?"

Willow stumbled as he pushed her inside. She looked around, frightened, as her eyes adjusted to the darkness. The place was small, with carved stone walls. A large tomb, with a statue of a man lying atop it filled much of the space. Across from the main door which she just came in, was a much smaller iron door.

Willow spun around, glaring at Thomas, who was now filling the entrance. "That wasn't funny," she scolded. It had no effect. He just steepped closer to her, his face hidden in shadows. Willow, backed away from him, circling back towards the entrance. " I think I'm, just gonna go now."

"Is that what you think?" he asked, no playfulness to his voice, only menace. Willow continued to back away, then backed right into somebody. She stepped back, emitting something somewhere between a squeak and a scream. She saw the person she backed into was a blonde girl wearing a catholic school uniform.

Darla looked at her disdainfully. "Is this the best you could do?" she asked Thomas.

Thomas shrugged. "She's fresh," he said, the two conversing as if Willow was not even there.

"Hardly enough to share," commented Darla.

Thomas shrugged again. "You should have brought your own then."

Darla smirked and indicated the doorway. "I did," she said as Jesse came stumbling in, looking totally out of it.

"Hey, wait up," he said, holding his neck.

"JESSE!" exclaimed Willow, running over to him.

Jesse looked at Darla. "I think you gave me a hickey," he said. He pulled his hand away to reveal blood on both it and his neck. Willow's eyes went wide as she stared at Thomas and Darla.

Darla shrugged as Thomas gave her a look. "I got hungry on the way," she said.

Willow grabbed Jesse's arm. "Jesse," she said, almost panicked. "Let's get out of here."

Darla took a step towards them. "You're not going anywhere!" she said menacingly.

"Leave us alone!" Willow half demanded, half pleaded.

Darla lunged forward, face to face with Willow. "You're not going anywhere until we've FED!" she snarled, her face changing. Her eyes went yellow, her face taking on a sort of ridged bumpy look and her teeth elongated. Willow screamed and pulled back and fell to the floor. Thomas' face had changed too and he laughed as he and Darla circled them.

"Well, this is nice," came a voice from the doorway. Willow looked in that direction.

BUFFY!

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Buffy looked appraisingly around the room as she and Kara stepped inside, Xander behind them. "A little bare," she quipped. "But, throw on a dash of paint, put out a few throw pillows and call it home!"

Kara gave her an incredulous look. "Yeah, I'll see if I can get Mom to have one built for you in the back yard," she quipped.

"Who the hell are you?" snarled Darla.

Buffy looked surprised. "Wow, you mean there's actually somebody in this town who DOESN'T know already? That's a relief. I tell ya, keeping a secret identity in this town is a job of work!"

"And yet, I'Ve done it for six years," said Kara, finding Buffy's joking somewhat infectious.

"Show off," answered Buffy.

Xander moved towards Willow and Jesse and helped Willow to her feet. "Buffy, we bail now, right?" he said.

"Not just yet," said Thomas threateningly.

Buffy looked at him and rolled her eyes. "First of all," she said. "what is with that outfit? Live in the now, ok? You like like...DeBarge." She turned to Darla. "Now, we can do this the hard way or...well, yunno what? There's actually only the hard way!" Kara stood next to her. Buffy could tell she was scared, but trying to look confident.

"Fine by me," said Darla.

"Are you sure?" asked Buffy. "Because this isn't gonna be pretty. We're talking violence, strong language, adult content..."

Thomas growled, tired of her talk and charged at her. Without ever looking at him, Buffy whipped out the makeshift stake from her jacket and thrust it behind her, letting Thomas impale himself on it. His eyes went wide as he exploded into dust.

Buffy looked to Darla. "SEE what happens when you roughhouse?" she asked.

Darla looked wary but nowhere near cowed. "He was young and stupid," she said, assuming a fighting stance and circling Buffy.

"Kara, get them out of here!" shouted Buffy, never taking her eyes off Darla.

"Buffy, are you sure about this?" asked Kara. "I don't want to leave you alone.

"Go!" said Buffy. "I need you to protect them in case there are others out there." Kara nodded at her and ushered Xander, Willow and Jesse out of the crypt.

"Don't go far!" Darla called after them. She lunged at Buffy who parried her blows with martial arts precision. The last punch, she caught Darla's wrist, landed a punch of her own to the gut and flipped Darla to the ground.

Buffy stood over her, all traces of humor gone from her face. "You know," she said. "I JUST wanted to start over. Be like everybody else. Have some friends, maybe a dog. But, no, you had to come here. You couldn't go suck on some other town!"

Darla was completely bemused. "Who ARE you?" she asked.

Buffy gave her an almost predatory look."You don't know?" she asked.

Suddenly, large hands grabbed her by the throat and lifted her bodily from the ground. He stepped out of the shadows, his bulk dwarfing Buffy. I don't care," came a deep voice.

"Luke!" exclaimed Darla.

Luke threw Buffy a good fifteen feet. She hit the wall, face first, landing badly. He turned to Darla as Darla stood there. "You were supposed to bring an offering for the Master," he said accusingly. "We're almost at the Harvest, and you dally with this child?"

"We had someone," protested Darla. "But she came and...she killed Thomas. Luke, she's strong."

Luke waved Darla off contemptuously. "You go," he ordered. "I'll stay and see if I can handle this little girl." Darla left and Luke turned back to Buffy.

Buffy got to her feet, ready for him this time. he reached out and grabbed her, but she knocked his arms away and kicked him in the face, knocking him back. He recovered in a second and landed a solid punch to her face.

"You ARE strong," he granted, almost seeming impressed. Then he slammed her back to the ground. "I'm stronger."

Buffy got to her feet and threw a punch, which Luke blocked. She ducked under one of his, threw another and he caught her arm, backhanding her and knocking her back again. He looked at her disdainfully. "You're wasting my time," he said.

Buffy circled the tomb, keeping it between herself and Luke. "Hey, I had other plans too," she said. Luke suddenly shoved the tomb with all his might, sending it flying towards her. Buffy jumped over it, landing on top of the tomb, then leapt off of it, did a flip and landed both feet solidly in Luke's chest, knocking them both back. She recovered first, and pulled her stake back out, driving it towards his chest. He caught it at the last minute and squeezed, splintering it in his powerful grip.

"You think you can stop me? Can stop US?" he asked as he drove a solid punch into her jaw and knocked her to the ground, dazed. "You have no idea what you're dealing with!" he stood over her, looking triumphant.

"And like a plague of boils," he intoned. "the race of Man covered the Earth. But, on the third day of the newest light will come the Harvest. When the blood of men shall flow as wine. When the Master shall walk among them once more. The world will belong to the Old Ones, and Hell itself will come to town."

Buffy slowly got to her feet, keeping an eye on Luke. This vampire was too strong! But, it wasn't in her to give up, scared as she might be. She lunged in to attack,but he backhanded her with everything he had, sending her flying right into the tomb. She landed hard, knocking the wind out of her. Beside her, she was the withered corpse of the tombs owner.

Buffy was hurt pretty bad, as she looked up to see no Luke. Where was he? slowly, achingly, she lifted her head. Truly scared, she looked over one side of the tomb. She looked over the other...

Luke suddenly roared and leapt on top of tried to fight him off, but he had her well pinned. He contemplated her with a gleeful animal hunger for a moment.

"Amen," he said as he bored down on her.

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Kara exited the crypt to see two vampires menacing her friends. Xander had let go of Jesse and stepped in front of him and Willow.

Kara ran forward, faster than anybody imagined and threw a punch at one of the vampires. She caught him unawares and he went flying back, landing on the ground, dazed. She turned to face the other vampire. He threw a punch at her, hitting her in the jaw and knocking her head back. She threw a punch, which he blocked, then he threw another at her that hit her with a glancing blow. Then he threw a roundhouse kick that connected solidly with Tara's jaw, knocking her to one knee.

"KARA!" yelled Xander, as he ran forward and tried to tackle the vampire. The vampire just looked at him, and backhanded him, knocking Xander to the ground and dazing him. Fortunately, he was distracted enough for Kara to grab him and land three solid punches in his face, breaking his jaw and knocking him to the ground. She took out her make shift stake and jumped on top of him, slamming the stake into him.

The vampire screamed in pain as the stake entered his stomach instead of his heart.

"Oh, sorry!" said Kara, aghast. She pulled the stake back, this time striking home. The vampire exploded into ash.

Kara looked at the spot the vampire had been, looking stunned. "Well, at least they clean up after themselves," she said, somewhat lamely.

Unfortunately, the other vampire had recovered and seen his partner dusted. "Kara! Look out!" called Willow as the vampire rushed towards her. Kara spun around, again much faster than the vampire had anticipated, with her stake out. The vampire could not stop and impaled himself on the stake, exploding into dust.

Xander came over as Kara got to her feet. "How..." he asked

"Quiet!' snapped Kara, uncharacteristically bossy. She heard something from inside the crypt. A man's voice speaking, and Buffy gasping. It sounded like there was a struggle.

"Xander," she said turning to her friend. "Buffy needs my help. Can you get them to safety?"

"Yeah," said Xander. "We'll go to the police station. It's just a couple of blocks." He and Kara nodded at each other as he went and put Jesse's arm over his shoulder, supporting him.

"Did anybody else see that guy explode into dust?" Jesse asked, still out of it.

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	7. NOT A NEW CHAPTER PLEASE DON'T BE MAD

Hello my readers,

I mentioned this in my profile, but, as not everybody reads profiles, I am doing a special non chapter in each of my stories so you know what is up.

I am not abandoning any of my stories, but, my personal life has gone a little crazy lately. I've always spent a lot of time taking care of my wife, who is disabled, and lately, her mother too. Things have been extra bad with my mother in law lately, and I've spent the last three weekends running errands for her. So, not only am I having little time for writing, but, often, when I do, I'm just too tired or brain fried to write.

And, if that weren't enough, my Dad has COPD (Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease), basically, problems with his lungs. He's in the final stages of this disease, which means, there is no telling how much longer he has. He lives three hours away. As a result of this, I'll be visiting him on the weekends sometimes, and, as I have no laptop, I won't be able to write when I am up there. Weekends are my prime time for writing.

So, I repeat, I am not abandoning any of my stories. Nor am I putting any of them on hiatus. I'm still trying to write when I can, but, updates are likely to come a lot more slowly. I know there are people chomping at the bit to find out what happens next in some of them and I am truly sorry for this. Believe me, I don't like it any more than you do. I hope you know how much I truly do appreciate you all. I hope nobody gets bored and goes away because of this.

I hope life is treating you all well.

Bill, AKA DaBillmann.


	8. Chapter 6 The Harvest Pt 2

**Dedication: This chapter is dedicated to my Dad. I mentioned in the last "chapter" I wasn't going to have as much time for writing because he was sick. Well, he passed away on May 3rd, the day after I posted that. My Dad was the greatest man I'll ever know. He was an amateur writer himself, mostly poems, though he hadn't written in years. He'd read some of what I posted here last summer, and he told me "I was very proud. You're better than i ever was". So, this chapter is for you Dad. I love you.**

 **Chapter Six The Harvest Pt 2**

Willow, Xander and Jesse were making good time, despite Willow and Xander having to support a still somewhat dazed Jesse. They were almost at the edge of the cemetery.

Suddenly they stopped. Despair creeping onto all three of their faces. Right ahead, were three vampires, practically waiting for them.

"This is NOT good," said Xander as the three of them backed up...

only to find Darla right behind them.

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Luke bore down on Buffy. No matter how she struggled she couldn't get away. His eyes aglow with victory he ripped open her shirt a bit for easier access to her throat and grabbed her...

And screamed Smoke curled from his hand as he pulled it back. Buffy looked down to see smoke also curling from the cross that girl had given her. As she took the opportunity to curl up her legs and double kick him, she saw two hands appear on his shoulder and yank backwards. Luke went flying back and Buffy heard him hit a wall. Then, one of the hands reached in and hauled Buffy out. She looked to see Kara standing in front of her holding a broken tree branch. Luke was lying against the wall of the mausoleum, stunned.

Buffy wasted no time in grabbing Kara's stake. She ran over and yanked Luke to his feet, but Luke had recovered enough to throw a backhanded punch that knocked her back, but not down. Kara ran in to help her cousin and threw a clumsy punch at Luke, which he easily blocked.

"You're stronger than she is," he proclaimed, grabbing the front of her blouse. "But you're no warrior.' He punched her in the face, splitting her lip, then swung the fist back, backhand punching her, knocking her glasses off. "I AM!" He pulled a now stunned Kara forward and opened his mouth...

Suddenly, he felt an arm wrap around his heck and a weight on his back. "Forget that it was two against one, moron?" asked Buffy as she plunged her stake into his heart. She heard Luke mutter something like "Bitches!" before dusting.

She reached out her hands and took Kara's arms. "You ok?" she asked her dazed cousin.

"Yeah," said Kara, wiping blood from her lip. She reached down and picked up her glasses.

"Where are the others?" asked Buffy, urgently.

"It sounded like you were in trouble." Kara explained. She pointed to her ear when Buffy looekd at her funny. "Remember, enhanced hearing. I sent them to the police station and came back to help."

"It's a good thing you did," said Buffy. "But there might be more of them. C'mon!"

With that both cousins exited the mausoleum to look for their friends, niether seeing a black, shaved headed vampire who was observing from the shadows.

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Darla smirked as each of the three minions grabbed one of the teenagers. "You four and your little friends have caused us quite a ruckus this evening," she said as the darker haired boy fought back against the vampire holding him. She swiftly backhanded him, dazing him. "I think The Master will take special pleasure in draining you."

Suddenly, the boy who Darla had been trying to bring as an offering to the Master stumbled forward as the vampire holding him turned to dust. Behind him stood a rather non descript looking man with brown hair. Even his clothes looked...average. "ANOTHER one?" Darla exclaimed.

The guy swiftly punched each of the vampires holding the other two. "I guess they were having a sale," he said, turning to face Darla as the red haired girl helped the two dazed boys out of the line of fire. As he started towards her, one of the other vamps recovered and hit him from behind. The man turned and blocked a punch from the vampire, but the other one was also upon him. Darla started to join the fray, but she heard a voice call "This way!" Deciding to exercise the better part of valor, Darla slipped off into the night.

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Kara and Buffy arrived at the entrance to the cemetery to see Willow, Xander and Jesse standing there as the guy from last night fought two vampires. He was holding his own, obviously being strong. Buffy ran forward and pulled one of the vampires off of him Kara joined them and, between the three of them, they made short work of the vampires.

"Man," said Xander as he and the others walked up to them. "Am I ever glad to see you guys!"

"Are you ok?" Kara asked.

"I...don't know?" said Willow, whom the shock was clearly catching up with. Kara wrapped an arm around her shoulders to support her, as Xander did the same for a still dazed Jesse.

Buffy turned to the other guy. "Who the Hell ARE you?" she asked.

"A guy who wants to help," he answered simply. "The Harvest is tomorrow night, and if you don't stop it the Master walks free."

"Why ME?" asked Buffy. "If this Harvest is such a suck fest why don't YOU stop it?"

The man gave her an enigmatic look. "I'm not the Slayer," he answered.

"Yeah, well, you did pretty well there," said Kara.

"Your friend has lost some blood," said the man, indicating Jesse. "He needs some first aid. I may not be able to stop The Harvest myself but, I'll be around when you need me."

"Look," said Buffy as he turned to leave. "If you're going to pop up with cryptic warnings, and the occasional help, I think we at least deserve a name."

The man looked back. "Just call me John," he said, then he turned and walked off.

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Darla had gotten lucky on her way back to the Masters lair. She'd found a young couple parking and had managed to catch them unawares and knock them both out. It had taken some time, but she'd managed to drag them both back to the sunken church lair, both regaining conciousness as they arrived. A couple more of The Masters minion helped her drag them to where the master was trapped behind that invisible wall. Darla heard voices and saw Absalom, one of the Masters most loyal minions, who sometimes acted as a sort of high priest for the Order of Aurelius, giving the Masters his report.

"A Slayer?" asked the Master. "You have proof of this?"

"Only that the two girls were both very strong and they killed Luke," answered Absalom simply.

"Very likely proof enough," said the Master speculatively. "I can't remember the last time anyone even survived a fight with him."

"It was Madrid, 1843," said Darla as she and the minions dragged the two kids into the room. "He caught Luke sleeping."

The Master nodded and looked at the two offerings Darla had brought. "For me?" he asked. "Is this the best you could do?"

"We had more," answered Darla as the boy she'd captured just looked around in shock and the girl whimpered. "But the two girls Absalom mentioned, and a guy took them. They also killed four of your other minions, including Thomas, Master. They were all three strong."

"Two potential Slayers, and a man," mused the Master. "They must not be allowed to interfere with the Harvest."

"We would NEVER allow that, Master," announced Absalom, exchanging a look with Darla.

"You'd best not," answered the Master simply. He motioned to the two prisoners. "Bring them."

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The next morning, Kara and the others met up in the school library to report to Giles, and ss Giles could explain things to the now, Giles was standing on the libraries upper level, looking over the railing at the others as they all sat at one of the library tables. Willow and Xander looked as if they had gotten little to no sleep, and Jesse still looked a little weak from the blood loss.. SKara herself was sitting next to Buffy wrapping a bandage around her injured forearm. Kara's sister, Alex, was sitting at the same table. Kara and Buffy's mothers had both been in bed when they'd sneaked into their bedroom window, but, Alex had been sitting there waiting for them. Since Alex knew about Kara, they'd decided to trust her with Buffy's secret.

"The world is older than any of you know," said Giles gravely, giving a nearby globe a spin. "and contrary to popular mythology, it did not begin as a paradise. For untold eons, Demons walked the Earth, made it their home...their Hell." He started down the stairs.

"In time, they lost their purchase on this reality," continued Giles. "and way was made for mortal animals. For Man. What remains of the Old Ones are vestiges: Certain magics, certain creatures..."

"Like vampires," said Buffy, ruefully. Kara smiled sympathetically. She imagined having the desitny of the Slayer must suck as badly as being an alien did.

Xander rose, clearly agitated, and started pacing. "Okay, this is where I have a problem, see," he said. "because we're now talking about vampires. We're having a talk with vampires in it, and you three," he indicate Giles, Buffy and Kara. "are acting like it's the most normal thing in the world!"

"Ooooooh," said Willow looking dazed. "I need to sit down!"

"You ARE sitting down," said Alex with a touch of amusement.

"Oh," said Willow. "Good for me!"

""So, vampires are demons,"concluded Jesse, getting back on track.

Giles nodded. "The books tell that the last Demon to leave this reality fed off a human, mixed their blood. He was a human form possessed -infected- by the Demon's soul. And so they walk the Earth, feeding. Killing some, mixing their blood with others to make more of their kind. Waiting for the animals to die out, and the old ones to return."

"Ok," said Xander as he and Willow digested this. "That guy, John, referred to Buffy as a "Slayer". And that would be a WHAT exactly?"

Giles spoke as if reciting something he had long ago memorized. "As long as there have been vampires, there has been the Slayer. One girl in all the world ..."

Buffy put her hand on Kara's forearm, "He loves doing this part."

"Behave," said Alex, chuckling a bit.

Giles gave them a death glare. "All right," he said. "The Slayer hunts vampires. When one Slayer dies, the next is called. Buffy is the Slayer. Don't tell anyone." He looked at Buffy. "Happy?"

"Ecstatic," said Buffy dryly.

"I think that's all the vampire information you need," Giles concluded.

"Except for one thing,"said Xander. "How do you kill them?"

"YOU don't," said Buffy emphatically. "*I* do."

"Well...," protested Xander

"This is my responsibility, Xander" said Buffy grimly. "I'M the Slayer."

"You're not alone, Buffy," said Kara, softly.

Willow shook her head. "She's right," she said. If Kara hadn't been there, Luke might have killed you. Then, if John hadn't showed up when he did, those vampires would have...would have..." she suddenly looked pale. "Anybody mind if i pass out?"

Buffy put her hand on Willow's shoulder. "Breathe," she instructed.

"Breathe," agreed Willow.

"Breathe," said agreed Kara.

Jesse looked at Kara. "So, Buffy is the Slayer," he said. "What is YOUR deal?"

"Yes," agreed Giles. "How are you so strong?"

Kara took a deep breath and looked to her sister and cousin for support. She stood and took a deep breath.

"I'm from another planet," she answered, to the shocked looks of everybody but Buffy and Alex. "I was ten years old, and my planet, Krypton, was dying. My father built a small pod and sent me here to save me. He'd been stranded here briefly before, and Alex's father had helped him, so, he sent me to live with them. My real name is Kara Zor-El."

"My Lord," said Giles softly. "My order, the Watchers, have long speculated that there may also be alien life, but to meet one is simply...extraordinary!"

"We can't tell ANYONE," said Alex, vehemently. "My Dad was always really clear on that. If the government found out about Kara..." she trailed off.

"Indeed,' said Giles. "I have to say, the Council might do the exact same thing." He looked to Kara. "Your secret is safe with me."

"With all of us," said Willow, reaching over to squeeze Kara's arm.

"She's right," said Jesse, smiling. "The four of us," he smiled at Buffy. "five now, are a team. You can both count on all of us."

"Plus," said Xander with a goofy grin. "This is SO cool! It's just like Superman!"

Everybody laughed as Xander referred to the super hero who appeared in comic books published by DC comics. Superman had been from a planet called Daxam, and sent to Earth as a baby when the planet exploded.

"It's entirely possible that's where Kara's father got the idea," said Alex. My Dad collected those comics, and if he showed Kara's Dad any of them..."

"Hey, would that make Kara "Supergirl"?" asked Jesse with a grin.

"I'll help design the costume," offered Xander.

"Bert, Ernie," said Kara, shaking her head. " am NOT calling myself "Supergirl" nor am I wearing any costume HE designs!"

Giles rolled his eyes. "If we can get back on track, please," he said. He turned to Buffy and Kara. "Now, this John fellow, you said both times you saw him he mentioned "The Harvest"?"

"Yeah," answered Buffy. "But he was really light on the details."

"Does giving none at all count as "light"? asked Kara.

"I've been trying to research it, but I've come up with nothing so far," Giles admitted. "I could use some help."

"We all have free periods," said Jesse. "Much as I hate the idea of pouring through some musty old books, this seems pretty important." Xander nodded.

"I can go online and see what I can find," said Willow.

"I can help with that," offered Alex.

"Good," said Giles, obviously wincing a little at the mention of computers. "Then we have a plan. We'll all meet back here after school and compare notes."

Everybody nodded as they stood to leave.

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A/N: Over the course of the show, Xander makes a number Superman related references. I was thinking about it, trying to think of a way to include them and I finally remembered a character in DC comics named Mon-El, who was from a planet called Daxam (sp?) and had the same powers as Superman. That seemed a good solution,then, I just sorta figured it'd be ironic if one of the comic books had inspired Zor-El to send Kara to Earth. Hope that wasn't too hokey. Hope you all enjoyed this chapter. Please be sure to review.


	9. Chapter 7 The Harvest Pt 3

**To the June 2nd Guest Reviewer: I'm sorry my separators are annoying for you, but, I feel I need something to separate scenes and that is the best I could do. I originally tried something like this _ _ _ _but it didn't show up on the site . I'm glad you like the story but, if it really is that difficult on you, I'll understand if you do stop reading.**

 **The the August 7th Guest Reviewer: Thank you for the review. Glad you like the story, and I hope you continue to like what I do with it. And thank you for the kind words about the loss of my Dad. We are plugging along.**

 **Chapter Seven The Harvest Pt 3**

After a full day of searching his dusty old tomes, looking for mention of this Harvest, sometimes alone, sometimes with the help of Buffy's friends Giles had found something likely.

"For they shall gather," he read aloud to himself. "and be gathered. All that is theirs, shall be his. From the Vessel pours life." He paused a moment to ponder that. "Pours life." He thought for a moment then turned the page, to see an engraving. In the engraving, a bestial fellow was holding his hand out, commanding a throng of villagers, all of whom were bleeding. Below, in a hellish landscape, a demon was glowing with power. On the bestial ones forehead there was a crude symbol. A star with three points. Giles continued to read.

"On the night of the crescent moon, the first past the solstice, it will come," He stopped and looked up. "Tonight!" He heard the library door open and looked over to see Willow, Alex, Xander and Jesse enter the library. Willow and Alex had been doing some searches of their own during their computer lab.

Giles nodded at them in greeting. "Did you find anything of interest?" he asked.

Willow spread some computer printouts onto Giles' desk. "I think maybe," she said. "I looked through some old newspapers, around the time of that big earthquake back in '37. And for several months before that, there was a rash of murders."

"Great!" Giles exclaimed excitedly, then looked a little chagrained. "I...I mean not great in a GOOD way...Go on."

Alex flipped through the printed articles. "They sound like the kind you were looking for. Throats, blood, months, and not even a clue."

"Sounds like a regular party," quipped Xander. Jesse nodded in agreement.

Giles ignored him and looked at the articles the girls were showing him and shook his head. "it's all coming together. And I rather wish it weren't!"

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In the sunken church, the Master stood at his alter, watching as Darla and another of his minions lit a series of candles along each wall leading up to the alter. He listened halfheartedly to the chanting of his minions. It was TIME. His only concern was those two girls who had killed Luke, and that mystery man who had aided them. Who WERE they? _Ah well_ , he thought. _Them being around just means there will be someone WORTH killing when I rise._ He turned his attention back to the ritual.

Abasalom stepped forward, removing his shirt, and walked towards the Master, kneeling at his feet. The Master held his hand forward, and Abasalom reverently kissed it. The Master turned his hand with his open palm up so Absalom could kiss that was well. Then, Absalom gently took the Masters wrist in his hand, pressed his lips to it...

And bit into it. The Master winced and closed his eyes. Absalom fed for a moment, then reared his head back with unholy pain.

"My blood runs with yours," intoned the Master. "My soul is your province."

"My body is your instrument," said Absalom.

The Master dipped his finger tip in the blood flowing from his wrist, and used it to paint the three pointed star on Absalom's forehead. When he was done, he turned to face the assembled and spoke:

"On this most hallowed night,we are one. Absalom is the vessel. Every soul he takes shall feed me. Their souls will grant me the power to free myself. Tonight I will walk the Earth... and the stars themselves will hide."

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Giles and the others were discussing his findings when Buffy and Kara walked into the library.

"You guys find anything interesting?" asked Buffy after a perfunctory greeting

Giles sighed. "How about the end of the world?" he asked.

"I'd call that interesting," said Kara as she and Buffy sat down.

"This is what we know," said Giles going into full lecture mode. "some sixty years ago, a very old, very powerful vampire came to this shore. And not just to feed."

"He came because this town is a mystical whosit?" Buffy concluded.

"Yes,"said Giles. "The Spanish who first settled here called it Boca Del Infierno, roughly translated to The Hellmouth. A sort of portal, from this reality to the next. The vampire hoped to open it."

"And bring the demons back ," piped in Alex.

"The end of the world,"said Xander.

"But he blew it," Willow picked up the story. "Or, I mean, there was an earthquake that swallowed about half the town. And him too. Or, at least, there were no more vampire type killings afterward."

Giles pulled up a chair, a thoughtful look on his face. "Opening dimensional portals is a tricky business," he said. "Odds are, he got himself stuck, like a cork in a bottle."

"And this Harvest thing is to get him out?" Jesse asked.

"It comes once every century," said Giles. "On this night. A Master can draw on the power from one of its minions as it feeds. Enough power to break free and open the portal. The minion is called the Vessel, and he bears this symbol." He pointed d to a sketch of the three pointed star.

"So," said Buffy, making an attempt at cheerfulness. "I just dust anybody sporting this look, and no Harvest."

Giles blinked and nodded. "Simply put, yes," he confirmed.

"Any clue where this little get together is being held?" asked Kara.

"Well, there are any number of possibilities..." began Giles.

Xander and Jesse looked at each other. "The Bronze," they said in unison. Alex nodded her head in agreement.

"Are you sure?" asked Buffy.

"Come on, it makes perfect sense," said Xander. "Tasty young morsels all over the place."

"They're going to need a lot of victims from what Giles said," added Jesse. "The Bronze is the only place to guarantee that."

"Plus, that place is a relatively "closed environment"," piped in Alex. "They can go to town without drawing much attention from outside."

"That makes sense," said Kara looking at Buffy, who nodded.

"Then we need to get there,"said Giles, sounding tense. "The sun will be down before long." The seven of them rose and started towards the door.

"I gotta make a stop first, though," said Buffy. "Won't take long."

"What for?" asked Giles.

"Supplies," said Buffy, matter of factly.

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Buffy, Kara and Alex quietly entered their house and went up to Buffy and Kara's bedroom. They had to hurry. Dusk was already approaching. They went into the room and immediately to the closet.

"Is that you, girls?" they heard Joyce's voice coming from the stairs. Kara could hear two sets of footsteps coming up the stairs. They pretended not to hear her and continued rooting through their closet as Joyce entered their room.

"Are you three going out?" Eliza asked, in that challenging way only a mother could speak.

"We have to," answered Buffy simply.

"We didn't hear you come in last night," said Joyce.

"We were quiet," answered Alex. Kara tried to stay quiet. Because she had always worked so hard not to be noticed, thanks to her alien heritage, she was probably the worst liar the worst liar of the three of them.

Joyce paused for a moment. "it's happening again, isn't it?" she finally said, a tired tone in her voice.

The girls stopped what they were doing and looked at her.

"What is?" asked Buffy, trying to feign innocence.

"Staying out all night, sneaking out, How long before I start getting calls from your principal?" said Joyce. Eliza standing next to her with her arms crossed in a show of solidarity.

"Kara, you've never done anything like this before," she said, trying not to blame Buffy.

Buffy glanced out the window at the darkening sky and exchanged a look with Kara and Alex. She looked back to their mother, a note of desperation in her voice. "Mom, Aunt Eliza, I promise, it's not gonna be like it was before, but, we HAVE to go."

"No," said Joyce, simply.

"Wait, what?' said Buffy, confused. She couldn't remember remember the last time Joyce had simply said "No".

Joyce, perhaps a touch awkwardly, stood her ground. "I said "no","she said, setting her jaw. "The tapes, and your Aunt all say I should get used to saying it.

No."

"Mom, Aunt Joyce" pleaded Kara, trying to keep the whine out of her voice. "This is really really important."

"I know," said Eliza with a wave of her hand. " You have to go or it'll be the end of the world. We were teenage girls once. Everything is life or death."

Alex sighed. "Mom, we really don't have time to talk about this," she said.

"You three have all the time in the world," said Joyce, shaking her head sadly. "You're not going anywhere. I've been thinking about it and I think that the reason you got into so much trouble in LA was because your father and I were always so busy. Well, your Aunt Eliza and I ARE busy,but, we've decided that twice a week, we're going to have family nights. Tonight is going to be the first."

Kara sighed as Buffy protested that family nights sounded great, but tonight was not a good night.. She could tell they were not going to budge on this one. She exchanged a look with Buffy, both of them trying to figure a way out of this that did not involve just pushing past their mothers and going.

Alex looked at her sister and her cousin. "Guys," she said. "We HAVE to tell them."

"Wait," said Joyce, "tell us what?"

"Alex, we SO don't have time," said Buffy.

"Girls, what is going on here?" asked Eliza.

""I'll stay, you two go," said Alex. She turned to her mother. "Mom, you have to believe us." She said. "This really could be the end of the world. You know Kara's secret?" Eliza nodded. "Well, Buffy has one too. And please, trust me. They HAVE to go." Eliza sighed and nodded.

"Eliza," said Joyce. "What the Hell is this all about? What happened to our united front?"

"Joy," said Eliza, looking her younger sister in the eyes. ""There is a lot more in the world than you realize. If Alex says the girls need to go, then I believe her. We'll explain everything, I swear to you."

Joyce almost took a step back at the intensity and sincerity in her sisters eyes. She turned to Buffy. "Ok," she said. "But, this better be good. Because if it isn't, the LEAST of your punishment will be being grounded for 200 years!"

Buffy and Kara nodded, giving Alex permission to tell Joyce and Eliza their secrets. "I promise, Mom," said Buffy, hugging her Mom as Kara hugged Eliza. Both girls then hugged Alex.

"Be careful," whispered Alex.

"Love you guys," they said as Alex led Joyce and Eliza into another room. They quickly filled a duffel bag with Slayer related goodies and left the house.

Buffy looked at the sky when they got outside. "Oh, God," she said. "We are never gonna make it!"

Kara looked around to make sure they were not observed. "Maybe we can," she said. She gave Buffy a mischievous smile. "Wanna see something cool?"

Buffy looked confused as Kara stepped up next to her and wrapped an arm around her waist. Buffy automatically did the same with Kara.

Kara took a breath. "I haven't done this in awhile," she admitted. She crouched down and sprung her legs upwards, propelling the two of them higher than Buffy would have thought possible. Then, instead of coming back down, they started accelerating forward.

They were FLYING!

"Karaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!" shouted Buffy as Kara flew them off towards the Bronze.

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At the Bronze, looking downright amazing in a black mini dress if she did say so herself, Cordelia held court over her little band or Cordette's. She liked some of them ,but some were just pathetic little followers.

"Senior boys are the only way to go,"she said as though imparting the wisdom of Solomon. "they're just a better class of person. The boys in our grade? Forget about it. They're children. Like Jesse...did you see him last night? The way he follows me around. He's like a puppy dog. You just want to put him to sleep. Senior boys have mystery. They have...what's the word I', looking for? Cars."

One of the girls, Cindy, started to say something, but Cordelia plowed on. "I'm just not the type to settle," she said. "Like when I go into a store, I have to get the most expensive thing. Not because it's expensive, but because it costs more." Cindy started to speak again but Cordelia cut her off. "Excuse me, Miss Motormouth. Can I get in a word edgewise here?" She stopped as the DJ started a new song. "Oh! I love this song!" Without a word, she headed out to the dance floor, knowing her loyal subjects would follow.

It was good to be the queen.

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Absalom, Darla , and a group of minions walked purposefully up to the entrance of the Bronze. It was funny in a way. The blood Luke Absalom planning to drain from his victims was supposed to energize the Master so he could escape his prison, but, after drinking the Master's blood, Absalom himself felt energized. He truly saw no way the Master would not be freed tonight.

The bouncer looked up at them. "I need to see some ID," he said. They ignored him and started to walk past him. "Hey! Nobody gets inside until I see some..."

Absalom turned and stepped up to the man, his face mere inches from the bouncers. "Get inside," he ordered quietly. The bouncer gulped and complied.

Once inside, the vampires spread out, two staying to watch the main entrance, others going to cover all the other exits. One slid over the bar and covered the door behind it, another going upstairs.

Darla went over by the stage to the backstage entrance. She went in and made sure the back door was secure, then went over to the fuse box and flipped a switch.

People gasped and murmured as the main lights and the music cut off. A shadowy figure stepped onto the stage.

"Ladies and gentlemen," said Absalom, stepping into the lone spotlight, in full vamp face, the spotlight making it look even scarier. "There is no cause for alarm." He paused and smiled evilly. "Actually, there's plenty of cause for alarm. It just won't do you any good."

Cordelia looked up at the stage from where she and her Cordettes stood. "What is this, some new grunge band? I didn't think there WAS a band tonight," she asked. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Bill Gordon watching, a concerned look on his face.

Darla came out and stood, looking up at the stage, as Absalom stood there, rather dramatically she thought, with his arms spread wide.

"Tonight is a glorious night!" he announced to the scared mass of people. "Though, it is the last night any of you will ever see. Bring me the first!"

One of the minions pushed the bouncer onto the stage. The large man was scared and babbling. "What do you guys want?" he asked. "You want money? Man, what's wrong with your faces?"

Absalom grabbed him by the scruff of his neck and squeezed, effectively cutting off any further conversation from him. "Watch me people," he ordered the crowd. He looked into the bouncers eyes. "Their fear is elixir. It's almost as good as blood!" With that he pulled the man closer and buried his fangs into the mans neck, drinking his blood in huge gulps.

Absalom finished draining the bouncer and tossed him aside. "Next," he called out.

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Across town, in the sunken church, the Master threw back his head, his whole body lighting up as energy coursed through him. "Yes," he whispered. "Yes. Soon."

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Outside the Bronze, Giles was checking his watch, for the umpteenth time, wondering where Buffy and her cousins were. He understood the need for Slayer related supplies, but, this was taking far too long.

"Maybe they're raiding a military base," quipped Jesse.

"I-I don't think so," said Willow, pointing . They all turned and gaped to see Buffy and Kara land.

"Great Caesars Ghost!" muttered Xander.

Buffy looked a little flushed. "Ok, that was cooler than anything i can do," she told Kara, who grinned at her.

"Where's Alex?" asked Willow.

"Our mom's tried to not let us come," explained Kara. "Alex is explaining things to them."

"EVERYTHING?" asked Giles, looking very irritated.

"It was the only way," protested Buffy. "Giles, we don't have time for this!" She crossed to the entrance to the Bronze but found it locked. "Dammit!" she cursed.

"Can you break it down?" asked Xander, hopefully.

"Not this thing," answered Kara shaking her head. "Not even working together. It's like the door to a bomb shelter."

Buffy looked at them. "You guys try around back. Kara and I will find our own way."

"Right," said Giles,. He turned to the other's. "Come on."

"Guys!" called Buffy. She handed them her bag of tricks. "You guys clear the exit and get people out. That's all. Don't go all wild bunch on us."

"See you on the inside," Giles said to Buffy and Kara as the four of them took off.

They got around to the back of the Bronze to find that door too was locked.

"Dammit," groused Xander.

"Now what?" asked Jesse.

Giles looked at the door. "It's nowhere near as strong as the main door," he said. "Look around for something to break it down.

All four of them looked for something, hoping Buffy and Kara were having better luck.

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Inside, Luke finished draining his third victim, a young girl. He felt flush with power as he turned to face his hostages, all scared, some whimpering, a few actually screamed.

Darla walked over and took Cordelia's arm, looking surprised when Bill stepped up and took Cordelia's other arm.

"Back off," he ordered Darla.

Darla snarled and her other hand shot out, grabbing Bill by his throat, making him gurgle. "Don't worry, lover boy," she told him. "You'll get your turn." She tossed him across the bar, making several bottles shatter when he hit. Bill's head made a satisfying thump as it hit the bar on his way to the floor behind it. Darla then proceeded to drag a struggling, protesting, Cordelia towards the stage.

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Buffy and Kara had found an open window and Kara had flown Buffy up there then both had crawled through. They surveyed their surroundings to see the balcony They'd stood on the previous night, a vampire looking over the two girls walked up to the balcony, right up next to a totally oblivious vampire. They looked over to see Absalom, standing on the stage. "I feel him rising,"Absalom announced. "I need another!" They saw the three-pointed star painted in blood on his forehead and looked at each other.

"That the Vessel?" Buffy asked the vampire they were standing next to nonchalantly.

"Yeah," he said. "He's..." He started, then turned and saw Buffy and smiled, thinking he'd found two new sacrifices for the Master.

Absalom, meanwhile, was in his glory, burning with power and with the rush of knowing his Master would soon be free. "Tonight is his ascension!" he announced to people who had no clue what he was talking about. "Tonight will be History at it's end. Yours is a glorious sacrifice. Degradation most holy." He paused, and looked at the sheep before him. "What? No volunteers?"

Darla pulled Cordelia onto the stage. "Here's a pretty one," she said.

"Noooooo," whimpered Cordelia, still struggling. She started crying as Absalom grabbed her. He was just about to bite her when he was distracted by the sounds of a scuffle from the , a vampire came sailing over the balcony and landed on his back in front of the stage, looking much the worse for wear. The vampires all looked up at the balcony.

"Oh, sorry," said Buffy sarcastically, Kara standing next to her with her arms crossed defiantly. "Did we break your concentration?"

Absalom looked up at the two girl, recognizing them. "YOU!" he snarled.

"You didn't think we'd miss this, did you?" asked Kara, challengingly.

Absalom smiled evilly. "Actually," he said. "I'd HOPED you'd come."

Buffy put her hands on the rail of the balcony and flipped herself backwards over it, landing on a pool table below. She then did a handsrping, grabbing a pool cue that was lying on the table, and landed on the floor holding the cue like a staff.

Kara rolled her eyes at her cousin's theatrics and simply jumped over the rail, landing on her feet on the pool table, then jumped onto the floor next to Buffy whipping out a stake.

Meanwhile, out back, Giles had just about given up finding anything to batter the door down with. "Dammit!" he cursed.

"Maybe I can help," came a voice from behind them. Giles turned to see a totally non descript looking man standing there.

"John!" exclaimed Willow.

John nodded to Willow, Xander and Jesse and walked up to the door. Without another word, he kicked the door in, startling the vampire standing guard on the other side. Moving quickly, John ran in and landed a swift uppercut to the vampires jaw. He then grabbed him by the throat and slammed him against the wall. He held out a hand. "Stake," he called.

Giles handed him a stake and John dusted the vampire as the others rushed inside.

Two vampires charged Buffy and Kara, one from each side. Never taking her eyes off Luke, Buffy flipped the pool cue and jammed the skinny end into the heart of one of them. She let go of the cue and both the vampire and it exploded into dust. Kara grabbed the other, punched him in the face a few times, then flipped him to the floor and dusted him.

"I'll take Big Ugly," Buffy told her cousin. "You keep the others off me." Kara nodded as she walked towards Absalom."Okay, vessel want blood?"

Absalom shoved Cordelia aside. "I want YOURS!" he announced. "Only yours."

"Come and get it!" Buffy snarled as the two closed on each other.

Buffy ran towards the stage and leaped at Absalom, slamming her fist into his face, knocking him back. He counter attacked but Buffy ducked his punch, and came back up with a roundhouse kick to his face. She whipped out her stake and stabbed at his chest, but he blocked and swung a vicious blow to her face, nailing her and knocking her down onto her butt, the force of the blow making her slide back into the corner. "Ok,' she said, a bit dazed. "OW!"

Two vampires rushed at Kara. She threw a punch at one of them, attempting to use the stake like a roll of quarters, barely managing to connect, knocking him down as the other barreled into her. The two struggled but Kara, being stronger, finally broke his grip. She threw a left, which the vamp blocked. It swung back at her, rocking her head back. She felt rather than saw the second vamp get up, then she felt him grab her from behind, pinning her arms and lifting her off the floor. Kara growled in frustration as the first punched her in the jaw. Though she was stronger than the two vampires, it was clear they were much better fighters.

Xander, and Jesse were the first two to come from backstage and into the Bronze proper. They saw no vamps in the immediate vicinity, so they started herding people out.

"Come on!" called Xander as he and Jesse herded the panicked crowd towards the back exit. Giles, and Willow had just come in, and were hurrying them along. John appeared behind them and ran over to help Kara. Xander failed to see a vampire sneaking up on him from behind.

Absalom advanced on Buffy, smiling predatorially. She lashed out with both feet and kicked him in the chest, causing him to fly back and land hard. Buffy leaped to her feet and was about to go in for the kill when she saw a vamp grab Xander from behind. She turned to the drum kit and kicked the cymbal clean off it's perch. She caught the cymbal in mid air, then turned and hurled it frisbee style at the vampire who had Xander. It turned, hearing the noise. It's eyes went wide, just before the cymbal sliced neatly through his neck. Xander turned in time to see the head disintigrate in mid air. he turned to Buffy and smirked. "Heads up," he said.

Buffy started to laugh at her friends bad pun, but Absalom had recovered. He reached out and grabbed her from behind, scooping her up into a crushing bear hug.

Kara struggled to break free of the vampire holding her, but, as his feet were planted and hers she found she had no leverage. That, and she couldn't concentrate with the other vampire pounding on her. Just as she was starting to get scared, a hand shot out and grabbed the one that was punching her. She looked to see John from the previous night throw a punch into his face, knocking him down. John kicked him in the gut as he stepped forward, grabbed the wrists of the vampire holding her, and actually managed to power his arms apart, freeing Kara.

"That's NO way to treat a lady," John said, ramming his forehead into the vampires jaw as Kara knelt and dusted the one who had been punching her. The vampire John had headbutted reeled and John threw two punches into hsi face, stunning him. Kara, showing her speed, slammed the stake home, dusting him. The two nodded at each other and turned to find more vampires approaching them.

Xander and Jesse were about to go help Buffy, but,they heard a shriek. They turned to see a vampire who had apparently decided to grab a snack, dragging Cordelia under the stairs. He threw Cordy to the ground and pinned her.

"Hold STILL," the vampire snarled exasperatedly at Cordelia. "You're NOT making this any easier!"

"I'm SO sorry!" Cordelia spat back at him, clawing at his face. She was scared but she was Queen C, dammit!

Jesse tackled the vampire, knocking him off of Cordelia. Xander rushed in and threw a punch into the vampires face, then he tried to stake it, but, the vampire caught his hand and squeezed until Xander dropped the stake. He then reached out both hands, one grabbing Xander by the throat, the other grabbing Jesse. Both boys gurgled for air as the vampire lifted them off the floor and squeezed.

Buffy struggled, but was unable to get out of Absalom's grasp. Sensing victory, he started to squeeze harder.

"I've always wanted to kill a Slayer!" he snarled squeezed even harder, and Buffy felt her ribs starting to crack.

People were still rushing to the rear entrance, making a bit of a bottle neck. Giles turned to Willow . "Come on," he said. "We need to get the front doors open as well!" The two started to the front, but a vampire pounced on them, knocking all three to the floor. It was Darla. Giles tried to fight, but he was no match for the vampire. She threw a punch that dazed Giles, then grabbed him by his jacket and pulled him in, opening her mouth to rip his throat.

Willow dug frantically through Buffy's bag, looking for something that might help her save Giles. She pulled out a jar of holy water, "Get OFF him!" Willow yelled to the Darla. Darla looked up at Willow only to be doused with holy screamed and her hands went to her face, smoke coming from between her fingers. She shot to her feet and ran out the rear entrance of the Bronze, knocking several stunned patrons looked and gave Willow a shaky smile. "Nice moves,' he said, making her smile weakly. She looked like she was about to faint.

Cordelia watched as the vampire squeezed the life out of Xander and Jesse. She looked around frantically for something to help them. She spied something Jesse had dropped. She grabbed it. A wooden stake. She shrugged and looked back at the other three, seeing Xanders hand shoot out and press something against the vampire's left eye. The vampire screamed as his skin started sizzling and he let go of the boys, his hands going up to cover his ruined eye. Xander pulled back his hand, and Cordelia saw he was holding a silver cross. Jesse, gasping for air, managed to throw a punch right into the same eye Xanders cross had just ravaged. The vampire fell to the ground and both boys dove on top of him, pinning him to the ground.

"The heart!" Xander yelled at Cordelia. "Stake him in the heart!"

Cordy looked hesitant until Jesse yelled "Cordelia! He's a fucking vampire!" This shook Cordelia out of her stupor and she gripped the stake in both hands driving it right into...

The vampires shoulder. Xander rolled his eyes.

"Oh, God, sorry," yelped Cordy trying again and hitting...

The solar plexus. The vampire screamed in further agony.

"Cordelia! Put this thing out of it's misery!" ordered Jesse.

"I'd like to see YOU do better!" snapped Cordelia, trying once more, finally getting the heart. The vampire exploded into dust as Cordelia fell, looking stunned, right onto her butt.

Kara and John were making an effective fighting team. John was obviously a skilled brawler, and at least as strong as Buffy, possibly as strong as Kara, so he was doing a good job at fighting two or three of them at a time. Kara was only managing one at a time, and though she was taking a number of blows, the ones she threw were doing much more damage than the vampires were doing to her. She threw a punch at the vampire she was currently fighting, knocking him back. Kara noticed him land back to back with a vampire that John had just punched. Both vampires were stunned so Kara and John both slammed their stakes home, making both vampires dust simultaneously. They looked at each other and grinned.

Buffy went limp in Absalom's grasp, her head dangling forward. Absalom snarled and leaned in closer. "Master," he called out. "Taste of this and be free!"

Just as he was about to sink his fangs into her throat, Buffy threw her head back and head butted him in the face, causing him to let go and reel back.

"How'd it taste?" she asked. But, despite her bravado she was weak. The fight was taking a lot out of her. She grabbed up the cymbal stand, holding it like a weapon, looking around. She noticed the window at the back of the stage, painted black, one big pane. She looked between it and Absalom.

Xander and Jesse stood, helping Cordelia to her feet. The three had no time to celebrate, though, as they saw three more vampires coming their way. They all looked at each other, and nodded, then turned to face this new threat.

Absalom advanced on Buffy, who swung the cymbal stand at him. "You forget," he said mockingly, "Metal can't kill me."

Buffy gave him a snarly smile. "You've forgotten something too," she said.

Absalom paused, less confident now. What could he possibly have forgotten?

"Sunrise," said Buffy in answer to his unspoken question. With that, she hurled the cymbal stand with all her might, causing it to shatter the plate glass window behind Absalom.

Absalom was bathed in light, but he just stood there, looking at Buffy. "Sunrise is in about nine hours, moron," he snarled at Buffy.

"Well, you can't blame me for trying," gulped Buffy as Absalom started towards her. Suddenly, he was grabbed from behind, Kara holding one arm. John holding the other. Absalom looked shocked, trying to wrest his arms away from them.

"That was just a distraction, dipshit," snarled Buffy as she brandished a stake and slammed it into Absalom's chest. "And it worked."

Absalom looked stunned. "Bitch,' he managed to get out before exploding into dust.

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In the sunken church, the Master suddenly doubled over in pain, feeling the extra energy leave him, feeling his body stop glowing with power. He looked around confused. He reached out to the invisible wall that kept him trapped her and found it as strong as ever. "No," he said, almost pleadingly. he tried again. "NO!" he yelled this time. He looked around his prison. He'd failed. The Slayer had won! He threw his head back and unleashed a scream/bellow/roar with absolutely no humanity in it.

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Xander, Jesse and Cordelia faced the three vampires defiantly, knowing they couldn't beat them in a three on three fight. Suddenly the vampires stopped as Buffy, Kara, and John came to stand next to Cordelia and the boys. With Luke dusted and Darla gone, the vampires decided on the better part of valor and got out of dodge. Giles and Willow came over.

"I take it it's over," said Giles, taking in the carnage.

"Does that mean we won?" asked a still slightly dazed Willow.

"Well, we averted the apocalypse," Buffy said. "You GOTTA give us points for that."

Kara laughed then looked around. "Where's John?" she asked.

"He left once the vampires did," answered Giles. "I saw him go out the back way."

"Ok, ok," said Cordelia. "Could somebody PLEASE tell me what the HELL just happened?"

Jesse gave her a sympathetic smile. "I'll take you home, and explain on the way," he offered.

Suddenly, they heard a groan, which was startling, as the group thought they were the only ones in the Bronze. They looked over towards the bar to see Bill Gordon, standing and shaking his head.

"Oh, I forgot!" exclaimed Cordelia. "That crazy blonde bitch threw him over there!"

Buffy ran over to Bill and helped him out from behind the bar. "What the hell happened?" he asked.

"I'll tell you later," said Buffy.

Xander looked at Willow. "One thing is for sure," he said. "Nothing is ever going to be the same."

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Buffy and Kara arrived home to find Joyce, Eliza and Alex all sitting on the couch. They stood as the two girl entered.

"The Harvest?" asked Alex.

"Averted," said Kara, smiling." Buffy was amazing!"

"You weren't so bad yourself," Buffy told her. Then she looked at her Mom, standing there, just staring at her.

Eliza took both Kara and Alex's hands. "Come on, girls, " she said. "lets let Aunt Joyce and Buffy talk." She led her daughters upstairs.

Buffy and Joyce stood there a moment. Joyce probably would not have believed a word of the story Alex told her, if not for Eliza assuring her the parts about Kara were true. Finally, Joyce broke the silence.

"It was all true, wasn't it?" she asked. "When you told your father and me about the vampires. It's all true. And you're the Slayer. And all the trouble in LA was because of you fighting vampires."

"Yeah,' was all Buffy could say. "Look, Mom..."

"And we had you committed," Joyce said, tears springing to her eyes. "You fought monsters, and we had you committed for it! God, you must hate us!"

"Mom, no!" protested Buffy. "I mean, I was mad at you at first, but, then Kara told me her story. My God Mom! Aliens? Super powers? If I WASN'T the Slayer I'd have wanted to have Kara committed myself! So, I can understand why you and Dad didn't believe me. I just hope you're not too ashamed to have a freak for a daughter."

Joyce looked at her, sternly but lovingly. "I don't ever want to hear you talk like that again,' she said. "I have a daughter who does what no one else can do! I have a daughter who risked her own life to save the world tonight. It's no secret that you were kind of self centered before all this went down, but, I have a daughter who put her personal life on the line to stop that vampire Lord in LA. Sweetie, I love you, and I couldn't be more proud."

Tears escaped Buffy's eyes as she threw herself into Joyce's arms. "I love you, Mommy," she said, crying onto Joyce's shoulder, letting all the stress of the last year leave her.

"I love you too, Baby,' said Joyce rocking her comfortingly. "Of course," she said after a minute. "Saving the world is no excuse for your grades slipping, so, try to bring them back up, huh?"

Both of them burst into laughter as Eliza, Alex and Kara cautiously came back downstairs. Joyce and Buffy saw them, and each held out an arm. The other three joined them in one of the biggest group hugs in history. The future was likely to be rough, but, the five of them had each other.

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Epilogue

The next morning, things at Sunnydale high were exactly the same as always. Birds were singing, the sun was shining, and kids were talking and laughing and carrying on. The only thing different, was, Cordelia was not walking with her Cordettes, she was with Buffy and the others, sans John. And Bill. He had been so out of it he had bought Buffy's story about some sort of gang when she and Kara took him home. They all looked over to see Cordelia's friend Harmony having the attention of the Cordettes.

"Well, I heard it was rival gangs,' she was saying. "And get this, that new girl, Buffy, totally knew these guys! Which is too weird. I c'n;t really remember everything too well, but it was a total freak show!" the others nodded as they passed by the gang, giving Cordelia a strange look for being seen with them. She just glared right back at them, making all of them look away.

Xander watched the girls walk by with a look of total disbelief on his face.

Kara smirked at the boy as she stood next to him. "What were you expecting?" she asked

"I don't know," said Xander exasperatedly. "The dead rose!"

"We should have at least had an assembly," Cordelia threw in. Jesse had indeed explained everything to her. It had all made sense to Cordelia, but what she hadn't gotten was Buffy being the Slayer, She was so...tiny.

"People have a tendency to rationalize what they can and forget what they can't," said Giles, sagely.

"Believe me," said Buffy "I've seen it happen."

"Well," said Willow. "I'll never forget it. None of it." Xander, Cordelia, Jesse and Alex all nodded in agreement.

"Good," said Giles nodding. "Next time you'll be prepared."

"Wait, what?" asked Cordelia.

"NEXT time?" added Xander.

"and next time is WHY?" asked Willow.

Giles chuckled. "We stopped the Master from freeing himself and opening the mouth of hell," he explained. "But that doesn't mean he'll stop trying."

"I'd say the fun is just beginning," said Alex, shaking her head.

"More vampires?" asked Willow, nervously.

"Not just vampires," said Giles, comforting nobody. "The next creature we face may be something quite different."

"I can hardly wait," said Buffy, sarcastically.

"We're at the center of a mystical convergence," explained Giles. "We may in fact stand between the earth and total destruction."

"But, no pressure," scoffed Kara.

Xander turned to Buffy. "Buffy, this isn't good," he said.

Buffy exchanged a look with Kara. " Well, we just gotta look on the bright side," she said. " Maybe I can still get kicked out of school." She and Kara smiled at Giles and started off, the other five keeping up with them.

"Now THERE'S a plan," said Kara.

"'Cause a lot of schools aren't on Hellmouths," added Jesse.

"OH!" said Willow helpfully."Maybe you could blow something up!"

"Yeah," said Cordelia . "They're really strict about that."

"I wouldn't like to see the school get blown up," said Alex, though, she was clearly joining in.

Buffy laughed. "I was thinking of a more subtle approach," she said. "Like excessive not studying."

"Been there, done that,' said Xander, making Willow and Alex roll their eyes.

Giles shook his head as they walked off. "The earth is doomed," he said softly before heading to the library.

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A/N: I had a slightly hard time with this chapter. With Jesse not getting taken, that left a few holes, like the confrontation that made Buffy (and Kara) late getting to the Bronze. But, I am fairly happy with how I worked things out. I hope you all enjoyed the chapter. Please let me know what you think.


	10. Chapter 8 The Witch? Pt 1

A/N: As happens so often with a guy named Bill, apologies for the length of time between updates. I don't want to bore you all with details of my personal life, but things have just been extra crazy busy, plus, I've had a few health problems. And, to be honest, this story was stumping me. I wasn't sure I wanted to tackle Witch again, but I wasn't sure where to go next. I have plans but, wanted a little more build up. Then I got an idea what to do with Witch to make it a little different. Warning, at first the "episode" might not seem too different from the one on the show, but, there WILL be a twist.

T _ **o guest reviewer Micheal: Thanks for the kind words about the story and for your condolences on the loss of my Dad. And thanks for your patience. I hope I don't disappoint.**_

 **Chapter 8 The Witch? Pt 1**

"This is MADNESS," announced Giles, as Buffy stood before him wearing her old Hemry High cheerleading outfit, both of her cousins watching, both clearly amused.

"You don't like the color?" Buffy asked, feigning innocence. She knew full well what the problem was. Kara snickered while Alex shook her head at her cousin's antics.

"What? I don't like..." Giles stammered, pinching the bridge of his nose. It was much too early in the day to be developing a headache, but, since meeting his Slayer, headaches were becoming a daily occurrence for Giles. "Buffy, do you ignore everything I say? As a rule?"

"Just the boring bits," Kara muttered under her breath, then smiled sweetly when Giles glared at her. The normally shy and introvereted girl was developing a bit of sass, now that Buffy was living with her family.

"No," said Buffy exasperatedly. "I believe that's YOUR gig. I TOLD you we were trying out for cheerleading."

Giles looked at Alex and Kara imploringly. "Can't either of you talk any sense into her?" he asked.

"Don't look at US," argued Alex, scoffing. "Giles, I've known Buffy all of her life and the only thing I've ever been able to talk her out of involved a cat, a tube of super glue and a bicycle." Kara laughed as Buffy rolled her eyes and stuck her tongue out at both of her cousins.

Giles sighed. "You have a sacred birthright, Buffy," he said. " You have been chosen to slay vampires, and fight evil. NOT to prance about and wave pom pom's at people! And as you Watcher I forbid it." Giles winced inwardly. He knew that forbid was a mistake, with this Slayer, the moment the word left his mouth.

"This is gonna be gooooood," Alex singsonged to no one in Kara. Kara nodded.

Buffy cocked a hip and gave Giles a Look. "And you plan on stopping me HOW exactly?" she challenged.

Giles looked stunned but recovered quickly. "By appealing to your common sense, if such a creature exists," he said exasperatedly.

"Look, Giles," Buffy pleaded. "I'll still have time to fight the forces of evil, ok? But I also want to have as normal a life as I can in the meantime!"

Kara decided to take pity on the poor Slayer. "Giles," she said. "Buffy isn't like other Slayers. She isn't fighting alone. She has me, and while I'm not as good a fighter, I am a little stronger than she is. I'm not saying she should ignore her duties, but, I think she can do both."

Alex took up the argument next.. "Giles, I've been reading some of the Watchers journal's you have. I know the Watchers Council thinks they're doing the best thing, but, I honestly think part of why most Slayers die young is because they Slay to the exclusion of all else. Buffy needs something outside of Slaying to keep her grounded. Something safe."

Giles sighed. "Three against one," he muttered. "Very well. If it doesn't interfere with your duties."

"Thanks Giles," said Buffy as she decided to leave before he changed his mind. Not that he would STOP her, but she was tired of fighting about it. She turned to Kara and Alex once they were all outside. "And thank YOU guys."

"That's what family is for," answered Alex with a smile. "Ok, you two, I gotta get to class. Have fun and learn something cool." She turned and left.

"Thanks, Mom," said Kara chuckling as her adopted sister headed off. As Alex was a senior and Kara and Buffy were freshmen, they didn't share many classes.

"You sure you don't want to try out with me?" Buffy asked Kara. "It'll be fun."

Kara fidgeted and adjusted her glasses. "N-no, I don't think so," she said. " Thanks to you-know-what, I don't much like being the center of attention. Besides, I'd probably use too much strength and send some poor girl through a wall or something."

Buffy chuckled at the visual. "Well, we'll just have to find you something else. Maybe Glee club?"

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Later, Buffy and Kara entered the gym with Willow, Xander and Jesse for the cheerleader tryouts. Buffy was telling the gang about her adventures with Giles this morning.

"So, Giles didn't approve?" Willow asked sympathetically.

"He totally lost his water," answered Buffy rolling her eyes. "We haven't even SEEN a vampire in a week. I'd say he should get a girlfriend, if he wasn't so old."

Kara looked puzzled. "Lost his water?" she asked. "What does that even MEAN?" Buffy and Willow just chuckled and shrugged.

Xander and Jesse, meanwhile, were both looking around, taking in every sight.

"People scoff at school spirit," said Xander. "but when you see young women giving their all like this..." He was momentarily distracted by a girl named Amber doing the splits. "oooh, stretchy! Er, where was I?"

"You were pretending seeing scantily clad women in revealing postures was a spiritual experience," teased Buffy, enjoying his discomfort.

"Not sure pretending is the right word, Buff," said Jesse.

"See," said Xander. "Jesse gets it!"

"THERE'S a sterling endorsement," said Kara, rolling her eyes.

"Buffy," came a voice from behind them. The group turned to see Bill Gordon standing there. Buffy smiled. She hadn't seen much of Bill since the Harvest. The longish haired boy walked over to them and exchanged greetings with the group.

"Hi Bill," said Buffy brightly. "Come for the spritualism?"

Bill looked around confused as the others all chuckled at the private joke. "Uh, no," he said. "I heard you were trying out and I just wanted to come and wish you luck, and to give you this. For luck." He handed her something.

"What is this?" asked Buffy, taking it, the other girls gathering around. It looked like a friendship bracelet that Bill had made himself.

"I know," said Bill, looking a little embarrassed. "It's cheesy."

"Not at all," said Buffy with a beaming smile as she looked at the bracelet. "It's REALLY sweet," She handed it back to him and held out her wrist. "Put it on me?" she asked. Bill gave a shy smile and complied.

"God," said Cordelia, walking over as she watched Amber stand on one leg and hold the other straight in the air. "Who does she think she is, a Laker Girl?" She and Jesse exchanged a smile. Since the night of the Harvest, Cordy had started spending more time with Buffy's friends.

"I hear she turned them down," said Willow.

"Ok," called out Lisa, the captain. "Let's start with...Amber Grove. If you're not trying out, please leave the gym floor." Buffy and the others went to the side as Amber began her tryout.

"Hi Amy!" said Willow, as another girl came over to them. She was blonde and pretty, but, perhaps a little awkward.

"Hi guys," said Amy with a nervous smile.

"I didn't know you wanted to be a cheerleader," Willow said. "And you look great. You've lost a lot of weight!"

"Had to," said Amy, a bit ruefully. "Mom." Willow nodded knowingly.

"Do you know Buffy?" asked Willow, indicating the Slayer.

"Hi," said Amy smiling. "Oh how I hate this. Let me count the ways!"

Buffy smiled, warming up to Amy immediately. They all turned to watch Amber's routine. She was AMAZING.

"She trained with Benson...He's the best teacher money can buy,"said Amy.

"They have cheerleading coaches?" asked Kara, looking bemused. She still wasn't sure she got the whole cheerleader thing. They didn't have anything like that on Krypton.

"Oh yeah," said Amy. "I train with my Mom. Three hours in the morning, three at night."

"God," said Buffy. "That much quality time with my mother would probably lead to some quality matricide!"

"Your Mom's not THAT bad," Kara scolded, nudging her.

Everybody laughed and turned to watch the rest of Amber's tryout. Cordelia turned away feigning boredom.

"What the..." asked Buffy as smoke started emanating from Amber's pom pom's.

"That girl is on fire," said Kara, her eyes wide.

Cordelia rolled her eyes. "Enough with the hyperbole!" she said.

"IIIIIIt's NOT hyperbole!" said Jesse, as Amber dropped her pom pom's and her forearms and hands burst into flames. She screamed as Buffy, Kara, and Bill vaulted into action. Kara and Bill pulled a Sunnydale Razorbacks banner from the wall as Buffy tackled Amber, then they wrapped her tightly int the banner, smothering the flames.

"It's ok," Buffy told Amber, holding her tightly. "You're gonna be ok."

Nobody noticed a soft laughter coming from the bleachers.

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Later, the group, minus Bill, who still didn't know about all the supernatural stuff, met in the library and filled Giles in on what had gone down at tryouts.

."I've seen some pretty cringe worthy stuff since becoming the Slayer," said Buffy, a little shaken "But never in all that time have I seen somebody's hands get toasted."

Giles furrowed his brow. "I imagine not," he said pacing.

"So," said Buffy. Not a vampire problem, but it IS funky, right? Not of the norm?"

Giles stopped and looked out at the group. "Quite," he said. "Spontaneous human combustion is rare, and scientifically unexplainable. But there have been reported cases for hundreds of years. Usually, all that's left is a pile of ashes."

"That's all that would have been left of Amber, if not for these two," said Cordelia, indicating Buffy and Kara. She was sitting between Xander and Jesse, looking as if drawing comfort from them.

"So, we have no idea what caused this?" said Xander. "THAT'S a comfort!"

Giles shrugged thoughtfully. "Well, that's the thrill of living on a Hellmouth," he said. "one has a veritable cornucopia of fiends, devils and ghouls to engage..." he stopped, noticing they were all giving him funny looks.

"You're weird, Giles," said Cordy.

Giles rolled his eyes. "Well, excuse me for finding the glass half full!"

"Any common denominator in cases of combustion?" asked Buffy, attempting to get things back on track.

Giles took his glasses off and chewed the stem. "Rage," he answered. "In most cases the person who combusted was terribly angry or upset."

"So," said Xander thoughtfully. "Maybe Amber has this power to make herself be on fire."

"Kinda like the Human Torch," finished Jesse. "Only...it hurts." Both Kara and Cordelia rolled their eyes.

"So, we should get the skinny on Amber," concluded Buffy. "See if she's had any colorful episodes before."

"That would mean illegally hacking into the school's computer system," said Willow. she got a big, bright, smile on her face. "At last! Something I can do!" She got up and moved to a computer.

"We'll ask around about her," said Xander. Jesse and Cordelia nodded.

"Guys," said Buffy. "You don't have to get involved. This is my gig." She looked to Kara. "OUR gig." Both smiled.

"What do you mean?" asked Xander.

"We're a team," added Jesse. He looked to Cordelia. "AREN'T we a team?"

"Yeah!" said Willow. "You're the Slayer and we're, like, the Slayerette's!"

"I want to help too," said Cordelia. "But I am NOT a Slayerette!"

"We don't want you guys putting yourselves in danger," said Kara. "Buffy and i are the only ones with powers."

Xander scoffed. "I LAUGH in the face of danger. Then, I HIDE until it goes away!"

"Ok, well, I'm psyched for the help," said Buffy. She turned to Giles. "And if we find out Amber DIDN'T cause this herself?"

"Then we'll have to determine who or what did it," answered Giles. "And deal with it accordingly."

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Buffy and Kara walked into their house after school to find crates strewn about everywhere, Joyce trying to open one with a crowbar. Alex had a student council meeting, and Eliza clearly wasn't home yet.

"Hey Mom," she said, walking up to her.

"Hi Aunt Joyce," added Kara.

"Hi sweeties," said Joyce, smiling but not looking up. "How was school?"

"A reverent joy," snarked Buffy. "What's all this?"

"It's for the tribal art display," said Joyce,

"Oh cool," said Kara, checking out a statue then grabbing a donut and sitting noticed Joyce had not actually looked at either of them yet. "Buffy had tryouts today" she said.

"Great!" Joyce said, a touch absently. "How'd it go?"

"Well, there was an accident, so I didn't get to try out yet," said Buffy. "There was some pretty stiff competition though."

Joyce nodded as she continued struggling with the crate. "Well, I'm sure you'll do great," she said. "Keep on plugging. You just have to get back on the horse."

"Mom?" said Buffy.

Joyce finally turned to look at Buffy. "Yeah?" she asked.

"What was I trying out for?"

Joyce paused. Both stumped and embarrassed. "Uhm, some activity? I'm sorry Sweetie. I honestly have no idea."

Buffy smiled. "It's ok, mom," she said. "Your platitudes are good for all occasions."

"I'm just distracted here," said Joyce. "I've got inventory to do. This is the galleries first major show." She finally gave up on that crate and turned to another. "Could somebody with super strength PLEASE help me out here?""

Buffy and Kara exchanged a grin, then went about opening all of the crates for Joyce. Without the use of a crowbar.

Thank you," said Joyce with a smirk.

"It was cheerleading tryouts, Mom," she said.

"Oh GOOD," said Joyce. "I'm glad you're taking that up again. Keep you grounded."

Buffy chuckled indicating Kara. "That's what SHE said."

Joyce and Kara too chuckled as Joyce pulled a statue of a man halfway out of a crate, then shoved it back in. "Oh dear."

"What is it?" asked Buffy.

"Fertility statue," said Joyce. "Something YOU will never need to see!"

Buffy chuckled heading for the fridge, and looking inside. "You know," she said. "This girl Amy's mother works with her like three hours a day." She closed the fridge. "Sounds like she's really into it."

"Sounds like Amy's mother doesn't have a lot to do," said Joyce absently, picking up a few pieces and exiting the room.

Once she was gone Buffy and Kara went straight for the crate and looked at the statue inside. "Jeepers!" Buffy said, her eyes going wide.

"Earthlings are WEIRD!" said Kara, her eyes just as wide as Buffy's

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A/N2: Buffy's comment about Kara maybe joining Glee club was totally tongue in cheek on my part, a nod towards Melissa Benoist playing both Kara on Supergirl and Marley Rose on Glee. I have no plans on using any Glee elements in this story. Hope you all enjoyed the chapter. Let me know what you thought.


	11. ATTENTION READERS

Dear Readers,

My apologies for how long it has been between updates for any of my stories. Things got a little crazier around here in general and THEN I wound up in the hospital with a really bad infection that nearly cost me at least part of my left foot. I just got out of the hospital after a week and two surgeries and am still looking at a month or two recovery time at least. Part of me is hoping that during the recovery, I'll at least have more time to write, but, frankly, in this moment, I just don't know if I have any inspiration, thanks to the stress, and I am unsure how long I can sit at my computer at a time. So, as I have said so many times before, my stories are not abandoned, or on an official hiatus, I just want everybody to know that, I have no idea when I will post in any of them. I know some of you are really enjoying some of them, and so am I, so, I'm sorry for this. As said, I'll try to keep some writing done, especially since writing has been a stress relief for me in the past.

Thanks in advance for your understanding,

Bill aka DaBillmann


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